Hypertension, the decline of activities of daily living (ADL) and frailty

In older adults, functional decline, such as frailty and the need for nursing care, has a significant impact on quality of daily life (QOL) and life expectancy, and this is also true for older patients with hypertension. It has been shown that hypertensive patients with frailty or those in need of nursing care might be disadvantaged by conventional hypertension treatment according to the guidelines, while it is also known that inappropriate antihypertensive treatment may cause functional impairment. Therefore, in the management of older hypertensive patients, it is important to understand a patient’s condition using functional assessments, such as a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) or frailty assessments, and it is strongly recommended to determine the antihypertensive target and select the antihypertensive treatment according to the degree of functional impairment or frailty.