No abstract

Low systolic BP may be partially related to poor general health and poor vitality, but the very old may represent a select group of individuals, and the use of BP-lowering medications needs to be evaluated in this group.

The lack of association between APOE epsilon 4 carrier status and mortality, or development of dementia, or cognitive decline in these very elderly people, whether analyzed in the whole population or among the nondemented subjects only, suggests that the APOE epsilon 4 effect in younger subjects is age-dependent, and that it is no longer present in very old age.

Orthostatic hypotension is a common clinical condition that affects every fourth person aged 70 years or older. By temporarily inducing cerebral hypoperfusion, it may cause or exacerbate cognitive dysfunction. In an unselected population, OH was not associated with cognitive deterioration, nor did it predict cognitive decline during a 2-year follow-up.