Isolated systolic hypertension in the elderly: survey of practitioners' attitude and management.

A postal survey of 445 medical practitioners was carried out in the light of recent large studies supporting the treatment of isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) in the elderly. The response rate was 60.2%. 46% of the respondents would consider using drug therapy for ISH, and this was dependent on the patients age and the level of systolic blood pressure. Thiazide diuretic was the most popular first choice drug. The most recurring reason for not using drug therapy by 54% of medical practitioners was that treatment with drugs will reduce quality of life due to side effects of drugs. There was a large consensus on the use of non-pharmacological treatment of ISH in the elderly.