COURSE OVERVIEW
Hypertension is the most common diagnosis made in a physician’s office. It is arguably the most important modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD), cerebrovascular disease, and chronic kidney disease (CKD). There is an increase in mortality rates due to
coronary heart diseases and stroke, which keeps on increasing continuously and linearly from blood pressure as low as 115 mm Hg systolic and 75 mm Hg diastolic. An increment of 20 mm Hg in systolic blood pressure (SBP) or 10 mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in middle-aged and elderly persons is associated with a 2-fold increase in cardiovascular disease mortality throughout the entire range of BP. Therefore aggressive management of hypertension is mandatory.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
• Current update with JNC 7 guidelines to manage hypertension
• Office evaluation of primary hypertension
• The need to aggressively control hypertension
• Most commonly prescribed antihypertensive drugs as per recommendations of the JNC 7