Atherosclerosis, arterial stiffness and antihypertensive drug therapy.

Increased aortic stiffness is a consequence of cardiovascular (CV) aging and may be observed in the elderly with or without hypertension. Hypertension and arterial stiffness are independent risk factors for CV events, but such events may also be complicated by atherosclerosis, especially in the older population. The purpose of this chapter is to determine whether, in the presence of atherosclerosis, systolic hypertension in the elderly requires specific drug therapy. It will be shown that, in addition to the targeted drug treatment of associated hypercholesterolemia and/or hyperglycemia, the major problem nowadays is to find specific antihypertensive drugs causing a selective reduction of systolic blood pressure (SBP).