Elderly "overtreated"?
Thursday February 27th, 2014
People in their 80s may be getting too many medicines to prevent diseases they have little risk of suffering, it was claimed today.
Patients are being prescribed blood pressure drugs and statins to prevent stroke even though blood pressure and cholesterol are not key factors at this age, according to Dr Kit Byatt, of the County Hospital, Hereford, UK.
Dr Byatt, a geriatrician, sets out his concerns in the journal Evidence Based Medicine.
He says that large trials of these drugs in this age group have shown just "marginal" reductions in risk of stroke and "very modest" reductions in other cardiovascular events.
Many people would reject these "modest" benefits in return for not having to take so many drugs every day and not having to put up with side-effects.
Dr Byatt says: "The data strongly suggest that we are over-treating many healthy patients aged 80+ regarding stroke prevention."
He adds: "We need actively to rethink our priorities and beliefs about stroke prevention, actively informing and involving the views of the key person, the patient."
Overenthusiastic stroke risk factor modification in the over-80s: Are we being disingenuous to ourselves, and to our oldest patients? Evidence Based Medicine 27 February 2014; doi:10.1136/eb-2013-101646 [abstract]
Tags: Elderly Health | Heart Health | Pharmaceuticals | UK News
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