Hypertension Management

Abstract

Elevated blood pressure is a major modifiable risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and the leading cause of preventable death worldwide. Current estimates indicate that ≈7.6 million premature deaths and 92 million disability-adjusted life years are attributable to suboptimal blood pressure.1 Most of the lifestyle causes of hypertension are well known, and clinical trials provide clear evidence that reducing blood pressure with antihypertensive drugs significantly decreases CVD morbidity and mortality. Despite this, the World Health Organization is predicting an epidemic of hypertension and, in clinical practice, most patients with hypertension are undiagnosed, untreated, or suboptimally treated.2 Against the backdrop of increasing CVD burden worldwide, the gap between what we know and do in hypertension prevention and management is a major cause for concern. Achieving optimum hypertension control to prevent hypertension-associated CVD has been a substantial challenge. There are multiple reasons for lack of blood pressure control, including health care system characteristics, as well as patient and physician characteristics.3 Treatment and control rates of hypertension are particularly low in most developing countries (typically <10%), and even developed countries have far from ideal levels …