Efficacy of celiprolol in the elderly hypertensive patient. With the rapidly increasing average age of the population of the Western world, care and treatment of the elderly are becoming increasingly important. Cardiovascular diseases are major causes of death and disability in the elderly; hence, identification of cardiovascular risk factors and effective treatment are essential. Evidence indicates that these risk factors in the elderly are similar to those in the young; namely, high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, glucose intolerance, hyperfibrinogenemia, obesity, and cigarette smoking. The latter two relate to general patient management, whereas the remainder can be significantly influenced by modern drug therapy such as celiprolol. This drug is a third-generation highly selective beta 1-adrenoceptor antagonist with beta 2-agonist and vasodilatory activity giving a unique and advantageous pharmacologic profile for antihypertensive therapy with particular benefits for the elderly. The impact of therapy with celiprolol on the cardiovascular risk factors in the elderly hypertensive patient is reviewed. 