Arterial hypertension in the elderly: a review.

Arterial hypertension in the elderly is an argument of growing interest and relevance in our society for many reasons, the main ones being: (i) Progressive aging of the population with a particularly high number of very old subjects. (ii) The high prevalence of arterial hypertension found mainly as an isolated systolic form or a prevalently systolic one in the elderly population. (iii) Acknowledgement of the significant impact of hypertensive disease on elderly people, e.g., on the cardiovascular risk factor and on the quality of life. (iv) Results of important clinical trials have demonstrated that, using an adequate therapy, it is possible to reduce both cardiovascular morbidity and mortality even in elderly persons.