Systemic Hypertension in the Elderly

INTRODUCTION Hypertension in older persons is a systolic blood pressure (BP) 140 mm Hg or a diastolic BP 90 mm Hg based on the mean of two or more properly measured seated BP readings on each of two or more office visits (1,2). Isolated systolic hypertension (ISH) is a systolic BP 140 mm Hg with a diastolic BP <90 mm Hg (1,2). Stage 1 hypertension is a systolic BP of 140-159 mm Hg or a diastolic BP of 90-99 mm Hg. Stage 2 hypertension is a systolic BP 160 mm Hg or a diastolic BP 100 mm Hg. Prehypertension is a systolic BP of 120-139 mm Hg or a diastolic BP of 80-89 mm Hg (1).