Marian Sninčák
Elderly people can develop a secondary hypertension, which represents 10 - 20 % of such population. A simple screening of secondary forms can be acquired from clinical anamnesis, physical examination and basic laboratory tests. Suspicion for secondary hypertension can be drawn from very high BP levels, rapid onset of hypertension and hypertension badly reacting to pharmacological therapy. Renovascular causes are identified as the most frequent ones in this group. Some endocrinological states can be reversible forms of arterial hypertension and each physician should keep these states in mind when assessing hypertension as they can account for as many as 52 % of patients with secondary hypertension at an elderly age and many of them are oligosymptomatic, subclinical forms. Screening of such states is relatively easy and generally quite cheap. Incidence of secondary hypertension increases with age. Therefore, we should pay big attention to these states when treating elderly population of hypertensives.