The hypertensive patient

Abstract
Hypertension is a fact of life—and death—for many people over age 60. Given that this segment of the US population is the fastest growing, treatment of this disease is a public health issue of great magnitude. In this article, Dr Applegate summarizes the results of several recent large-scale studies of hypertension in the elderly. He emphasizes who should be treated, how aggressively they should be treated, which classes of drugs are most effective and safe, and how to target therapy to achieve maximum benefit for patients and society alike.