‘How low to go?’ Top transatlantic research journals debate antihypertensive treatment in older people

The scientific journal of the British Geriatrics Society, Age and Ageing, and the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society have launched a joint initiative, publishing two articles debating the relative benefits and risks of treating hypertension in older people.

It is widely recognised that raised blood pressure is probably the single most important treatable risk factor for cardiovascular disease in later life. The evidence that older people can benefit from antihypertensive drugs has accumulated with a succession of randomised controlled trials over the past 35 years. These trials have shown reduced risk of stroke and myocardial infarction, as well as decreased total mortality. However, despite the extensive evidence that is now available, questions remain about who to treat and on optimal blood pressure targets. Consequently practice varies widely and many clinicians are uncertain about what best to recommend for their older patients.

New Collaboration Looks for Trans-Atlantic Common Ground in Geriatrics

Top research journals launch international editorial series tackling the latest in geriatrics clinical practice & public policy. Up first: commonalities “across the pond” for older adults with multimorbidity.

Healthcare professionals across the Atlantic and around the world need to think beyond single-disease guidelines as they look to provide high-quality, person-centered care for more and more older adults living with multiple chronic conditions, so say editors from the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society and the British Geriatrics Society’s (BGS’s) Age and Ageing in the first from a series of joint editorials launched today. The series will look for common ground in geriatrics “across the pond,” beginning here with the U.K.’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guideline on multimorbidity, the medical term for those living with several chronic health concerns.