Turkish Journal of
GERIATRICS

Kardiyoloji Kliniği, Acil Yardım ve Travmatoloji Hastanesi-Ankara In developing countries, the elderly population, arbitrarily defined here, as age 65 and older, is increasing of percentage of total population. The major cause of morbidity and mortality in older persons, is cardiovascular disease and cerebrovascular diseases. Blood pressure, particularly systolic, tends to increase progressively with age, and elderly people with hypertension have a greater risk of cardiovascular disease. The incidences of coronary disease, congestive heart failure and stroke are all significantly greater in hypertensive elderly individuals than in normotensive elderly individuals. it has been estimated as much as %50 of mortality and %70 of morbidity in the elderly is attributable to hypertension. in this review, we tried to summarize the special features of hypertension in the elderly, as they pertain to diagnosis and management. Keywords : Elderly, Hypertension