Reducing Number of BP Meds May Be Safe in Some Older Adults

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that a medication reduction strategy is safe among some older adults treated with antihypertensives, reports Medical Xpress . The researchers considered whether this procedure is viable for people 80 years and older without significant changes in systolic blood pressure (BP) control or adverse events during 12-week follow-up. Participants were randomly assigned to either antihypertensive medication reduction or usual care. At baseline, subjects were administered a median of two antihypertensive medications. At 12 weeks, 86.4 percent of those in the intervention group and 87.7 percent of those in the control group had a systolic BP of less than 150 mm Hg, with medication reduction sustained at 12 weeks in two thirds. The mean change in systolic BP was 3.4 mm Hg in the intervention group compared to the controls, while at least one serious adverse event was reported in 12 participants in the intervention group and seven in the control group. "The findings suggest antihypertensive medication reduction can be achieved without substantial change in BP control in some older patients with hypertension," the researchers concluded.