Are high blood pressure meds safe and effective?
According to a study published by the journal Circulation, a steady systolic blood pressure below 130 mm Hg in relatively healthy women who are 65 or older is associated with longevity. Many of them even survived to the age of 90!
One thing we should be careful about is frailty. Older adults who suffer from conditions that cause frailty need adjusted doses of high blood pressure meds since they are prone to various accidents like falling and tripping.
A big study on hypertension that appeared in Circulation examined 9,306 elderly people and discovered that 26.7% of them had frailty. But even those with frailty had the same benefits from thorough blood pressure management just as much as other patients, with no increased risk of significant side events.
