The elderly are the main group of hypertensive disease, and to effectively treat hypertension in the elderly, we need to understand its characteristics so that we can prescribe the right medicine. Below, you will find a summary of the six characteristics of hypertension in the elderly. 1, systolic blood pressure increase Elderly people with age, systolic blood pressure level will also grow higher, while diastolic blood pressure level after the age of 60 years old shows a lower trend. In the elderly population, increased systolic blood pressure is more common, accounting for 65% of elderly hypertension over the age of 60. Some studies have shown that systolic blood pressure is more closely related to heart, brain, kidney and other important organ damage than diastolic blood pressure. 2, increased pulse pressure Pulse pressure is an indicator of arterial vascular elasticity, and increased pulse pressure is also an important feature of hypertension in the elderly. Pulse pressure > 40 mm Hg is diagnosed as increased pulse pressure, and the pulse pressure in the elderly can be 50-100 mm Hg. Some studies have shown that pulse pressure in the elderly is a more important risk factor than systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Pulse pressure levels are closely related to stroke recurrence, and the greater the pulse pressure, the higher the risk of stroke recurrence. 3, blood pressure fluctuations in the elderly due to the decline in physical function, blood vessels become stiff, the regulatory function becomes poor, so that the blood pressure of elderly hypertensive patients are more prone to significant fluctuations with changes in mood, season and body position, some elderly people can even occur after meals hypotension. The large fluctuations in blood pressure in the elderly will increase the difficulty of antihypertensive treatment, so the choice of antihypertensive drugs should be careful. 4, prone to postural hypotension The so-called postural hypotension refers to the change from the prone position to the upright position within 3 minutes, systolic blood pressure drop ≥ 20 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure drop ≥ 10 mm Hg, accompanied by dizziness, dizziness and other discomfort. Therefore, elderly people with hypertension need to pay attention to the measurement of standing blood pressure, and hypertension with diabetes mellitus patients should pay more attention. 5, blood pressure circadian rhythm abnormalities Healthy adult blood pressure levels should be high in the morning, low in the evening, blood pressure levels at night than during the day by 10-20%. Older patients with hypertension often have abnormal circadian rhythm of blood pressure, as shown by the night blood pressure drop <10% or >20%, or even show that the night blood pressure does not drop but higher than the day, so that the risk of damage to the heart, brain, kidneys and other important organs increased significantly. 6, many complications Elderly hypertension is often accompanied by atherosclerotic diseases such as coronary heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, peripheral vascular disease, ischemic kidney disease and dyslipidemia, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders. If blood pressure is not well controlled for a long time, it is more likely to occur or aggravate the damage to vital organs and increase cardiovascular mortality.