It is generally agreed that, irrespective of age, patients with sustained hypertension should receive antihypertensive therapy. This general attitude contrasts with the lack of knowledge of how drug response and drug sensitivity are changed in the elderly. Besides pharmacokinetic processes it is the physiology and pathophysiology of the elderly that modify the specific response to antihypertensive drugs and the adverse reactions related. The elderly and in particular those with cerebrovascular disease are susceptible to postural hypertension because they have less responsive baroreflexes. For this reason, adrenergic neuron-blocking drugs should not be used for treatment. The routine use of diuretics implies an enhanced risk of hypokalemia in the elderly especially if digoxine is applied in addition. The glucose tolerance gets more easily deteriorated than in younger patients. Thus, there are relatively few antihypertensive agents left for the optimal treatment of hypertension in the elderly. β-Block-ing drugs and co-dergocrine appear to be appropriate for basic therapy. Both agents are efficacious without inducing postural hypertension or improper sedation. In this paper the results of two studies are demonstrated dealing with the antihypertensive spectrum of the β-blocker pindolol and of co-dergocrine, respectively. The first study comprised 7,062 patients with an age range from ≤ 30 to ≥ 70 years. The comprehensive material offered the opportunity of analyzing the age dependency of the responsiveness to β-blockade. With an initial systolic blood pressure of 180–190 mm Hg the mean pressure drop due to pindolol (15mg/day) decreased by 40 mm Hg on the average in patients ≤ 20 years and by 20 mm Hg in those ≥ 70 years with the age-groups between showing an intermediate response. The diastolic pressure reduction, however, does not show a comparable age dependency. The same applies to the regulation of heart rate at rest. Thus, altogether the antihypertensive pattern of β-blockade is modified by the age factor to a minor degree only. In terms of daily antihypertensive treatment the differences of response due to age can be neglected. The trial on co-dergocrine (6–12 mg p.o./day) in 115 patients revealed similarities to the β-blocking agent regarding the influences on blood pressure and heart rate. Co-dergocrine induced an equieffective reduction of the blood pressure in the sitting and upright positions. The advantage of that drug compared with β-blocking agents is the lack of potential side effects related to cardiac depression. The paper refers to another study that centered on the age-dependency of side effects related to central active hypertensive agents. The corresponding trial on guanfacine (n = 4625) revealed no relevant differences in side effects due to the age factor, either in terms of their frequ