Pharmacotherapy for hypertension in very old people with frailty: A systematic review

Abstract

Abstract Frailty status in elderly people represents a stage of life when homeostatic reserves become exhausted leading to vulnerability to endogenous and exogenous stressors. Whilst elevated blood pressure is a major risk factor for poor health in the general population, this may be different in very old people whose health has deteriorated to the stage of frailty. This systematic review aims to establish whether antihypertensive pharmacotherapy improve survival, morbidity and quality of life in very old people (i.e., aged 80 years or more) with frailty. We searched Ovid MEDLINE(R) 2000, ClinicalTrials.gov and WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) up until 12/03/2021 for clinical trials and observational studies of pharmacotherapy with antihypertensive agents compared to placebo or no treatment that include people aged 80 years or older described as being frail or separately reported outcomes for people aged 80 years or older described as frail. No eligible studies have been identified. There is no reliable evidence to prove benefits or safety of antihypertensive drug therapy in very old people with frailty. PROSPERO ID CRD42020183422