The geriatrics researcher: Chris Bulpitt
Professor Chris
Bulpitt is Emeritus Professor in Geriatric and Cardiovascular
Medicine at Imperial College London. He is working on how to
treat high blood pressure in the over-80s, and hopes to
help to prevent strokes caused by high blood
pressure.
One of our BHF-funded research projects
focused on research in the very elderly, classed as anyone over 80.
When I first started my research career, anyone over 60 was
considered to be elderly. Now the general population is
living longer, there’s a need to understand how to treat
chronic conditions such as hypertension in the over-80s.
As we age, organs such as the kidneys, which excrete waste
products from drugs, become less efficient and more susceptible to
adverse effects of the drugs. So a drug such as a
diuretic that’s safe to take in your 60s may be unsafe in your 80s
or 90s.
Our research examined the effect of low doses and
slow-release forms of standard blood pressure-lowering
drugs in almost 4,000 very elderly people with high blood pressure.
The benefit of the low dose and slow-release formats meant that the
drugs had fewer adverse effects.
There’s a need to understand how to treat chronic conditions such as hypertension in the over-80s
Fortunately, these
drugs were found to be
both safe and effective in
the very elderly, reducing strokes, heart problems and death.
This is important because most of us don’t just want to live
longer, we want to enjoy a good quality of life
too. In some ways having high blood pressure in your 80s is a sign
of a healthy heart because if it were very damaged and weak because
of a previous heart attack, your
blood pressure would be low.
People over 80 who have high blood pressure are often otherwise
fit and well – which is why they’ve lived so long in the first
place – so reducing their risk of a stroke and
heart failure is important if they
are to stay independent. The results of this trial fit with those
of other trials in similar age groups.
Read our
introduction to high blood pressure
Read about Mark
Caulfield's research into genetic causes of
hypertension
Read about Morris Brown's research into the best
treatments for hypertension
Read about patient Ian Thomson's story
What it means for you
If you’re very elderly with high blood pressure, being prescribed the appropriate drugs will mean you can still enjoy a very good quality of life and stay independent.