High blood pressure increases the risk of diseases of the heart and blood vessels. Medicines that reduce blood pressure (antihypertensives) protect against these diseases. But the negative effects of blood pressure medicines are less well-studied.
New research found that, among people aged 80 or more and those with frailty (who are less able to recover from injury or illness), these medicines increased the chance of being admitted to hospital or dying because of a fall.
The study was funded by the NIHR School for Primary Care Research;