Why are ace inhibitors usually not the first line of drug therapy in newly diagnosed cases of hypertension among elderly (55+years)?

See below: In fact ace inhibitors and calcium blockers are recommended first line agents.

ACEI for High BP: There is no reason to avoid acei in 55+ hypertensives. There is a misperception that acei cause kidney dysfunction, but there's no evidence for that in clinical trials. Acei also were felt to be less effective in the elderly: not true in most cases. Finally, practice guidelines recommend diuretics as the preferred first-line rx in all adults, but that will likely change shortly with new guidelines.