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ABC and D: Ageing, Blood Pressure, Calcium Channel Blockers and Dementia

Female colleagues collaborating in the workplace

CEPAR and the Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Wellbeing hosted a public lecture by Dr Ruth Peters, Imperial College London.

The evidence base for the treatment of hypertension in older adults has been strengthened over recent years, however, controversies remain with regard to goal blood pressure and antihypertensive type. Furthermore, in older adults, cognitive function is an increasingly important outcome alongside cardiovascular benefit and, ideal treatment strategies may differ for different outcomes. 

Dr Peters presented the accruing evidence base for older adults and for calcium channel blockers, one of the candidate antihypertensive classes that are currently coming to the fore in this area. Ruth Peters is interested in risk and protective factors for dementia and has published several systematic reviews and meta-analyses in this area.

For more than 10 years until 2010 she was involved with the Hypertension in the Very Elderly Trial (HYVET) and led the cognitive function aspects of this, specifically looking at the impact of blood pressure lowering on cognitive and dementia outcomes in those aged 80 and over. The HYVET trial published its main results and those for the cognitive function and dementia outcomes in 2008 and went on to change guidelines in the treatment of hypertension. She currently holds an NIHR fellowship and is based at Imperial College London within their clinical trial unit and continues to focus on ways to ameliorate risk of dementia.

Date: 
Friday, November 20, 2015 - 12:00
End date: 
Friday, November 20, 2015 - 13:00
Location: 
Bob Douglas Lecture Thearure, Building 62A, Eggleston Road, ANU