Abstract: Aim To study the effects of captopril and atenolol on volume of cerebral blood flow in el-derly patients with essential hypertension. Methods The velocity of cerebral blood flow: (CBF) was measured with transcranil doppler before and after 4-week treatment of captopril (CPT) 75~ 150mg/ day, or atenolol(ATL) (50 ~ 100 mg/ day) in elderly patients with EH. Results The mean velocity of CBF was signficantly increased before treatment of CPT or ATL, and it was reduced after treatment to normal level (in the CPT group) the and to an excessive lower level ATL group. Conclusion CPT leads to an improvement of CBF, while ATL to decrese in elderly patients with EH.

Key words: Hypertension, cerebral blood flow, Captopril, Atenolol