Why the study?
Should youth with isolated systolic hypertension receive the same drug therapy as elderly patients?
Should youth with isolated systolic hypertension receive the same drug therapy as elderly patients?
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
The paper challenges the application of uniform ISH guidelines across all ages, highlighting that ISH in youth is driven by pressure wave amplification rather than aortic stiffening, and may not warrant drug therapy.
Current guidelines on isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) suggest the same treatment to patients of all ages. Application of these guidelines in youth with ISH may not be appropriate, as presently no data show adverse outcome or benefit of drug therapy in this group. Simple noninvasive tonometric techniques now enable physicians to measure the central aortic pressure waveform and amplification of the pressure pulse. ISH in youth is usually caused by high amplification of the central pressure wave, whereas ISH in the elderly (>age 60) is attributable to aortic stiffening. This is the only group with ISH shown to have an adverse prognosis and to warrant drug therapy.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
O’Rourke et al. (2013) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 10 related papers. Consider them for comparative context: