Captopril in the treatment of the elderly hypertensive patient.

As part of a large multicenter surveillance study of captopril, 975 hypertensive patients aged 65 years or older were treated, 418 of whom received the drug for at least 12 months. Blood pressure was lowered from an entry level of 193/105 +/- 30/16 (mean +/- SD) to 159/88 +/- 25/12 mm Hg, and side effects were infrequent. During treatment, renal function was undisturbed in the majority of patients. The frequency of clinically evident hypotensive episodes did not differ from that found in the total study population, suggesting that in this age group, despite the reduction in blood pressure, cerebral perfusion was maintained. This experience suggests that captopril can be used for the treatment of the elderly hypertensive patient.