Klin Farmakol Farm. 2012;26(1):5-10

The choice of antihypertensive treatment in hospitalised geriatric patients

Agáta Argalášová¹, Veronika Drobná¹, Lenka Kostková¹, Andrej Dukát², Ján Murín³, Martin Wawruch¹

¹ Ústav farmakológie a klinickej farmakológie, Lekárska fakulta, Univerzita Komenského, Bratislava

² II. interná klinika, Lekárska fakulta, Univerzita Komenského, Bratislava

³ I. interná klinika, Lekárska fakulta, Univerzita Komenského, Bratislava

Aim: The aim of the present work was to analyse the use of antihypertensive medications in a sample of hospitalised elderly patients at

the time of hospital discharge in relationship to age and comorbid conditions.

Methods: The sample of the present study consisted of 515 patients aged ≥65 years with documented arterial hypertension at hospital

discharge. The sample was divided according to age into four groups (65-69; 70-74; 75-79; ≥80 years). The use of antihypertensive medications

and the prevalence of comorbid conditions, which influence the choice of antihypertensive treatment, were compared among

the above-mentioned age groups.

Results: Combinations of three and four antihypertensive drugs were most commonly applied in our sample (28.5% and 25.8%, respectively).

No significant difference was found among the evaluated groups in terms of the number of antihypertensive drugs used (p=0.064).

Diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and beta blockers were the most frequently administered antihypertensives in our

sample (71.5%, 69.5% and 68.9%, respectively). Dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers and urapidil were less frequently applied in

the group of oldest patients (p<0.001 and p=0.009, respectively). Atrial fibrillation and chronic renal insufficiency were more commonly

present in the oldest patients of the evaluated sample (p=0.001 and p<0.001, respectively).

Conclusions: The spectrum of antihypertensive medications used in our sample corresponds to the recommendations for pharmacologic

treatment of arterial hypertension. Except dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers and urapidil, no preference for any class of

antihypertensive drugs in a certain age group was found.

Keywords: antihypertensive treatment, elderly patients, diuretics, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, beta blockers, comorbid conditions

Published: April 24, 2012  Show citation