Systolic heart failure in the elderly: optimizing medical management.

The aging population with hypertension and coronary artery disease is rapidly increasing worldwide and develops heart failure (HF). A wide range of pharmacotherapeutic drugs are recommended in the HF management guidelines. For the most part, these recommendations are based on the results of studies in the younger population, and most drugs were not adequately tested in the elderly. However, many changes that occur during the aging process affect the response to several of the recommended therapeutic drugs. Physicians will be increasingly involved in managing the expanding elderly population with HF. It is therefore imperative that they recognize ways to use current pharmacotherapeutic agents and the increasing need for novel agents for optimizing the management of the elderly patient with HF.