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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Echocardiographic Assessment Using Subxiphoid-Only Examination for Hypotensive Patients
Published on: April 18, 2025
[Antihypertensive therapy according to the ESH/ESC guidelines]
Bernard Waeber1, François Feihl
1Division de physiopathologie clinique, CHUV, 1011 Lausanne. Bernard.Waeber@chuv.ch
Updated European hypertension guidelines recommend diuretics, beta-blockers, calcium antagonists, ACE inhibitors, and ARBs as first-line treatments. Combination therapy is advised for severe hypertension or high cardiovascular risk.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Hypertension Management
Context:
- Updated guidelines from the European Society of Hypertension and European Society of Cardiology.
- Focus on antihypertensive treatment strategies.
Purpose:
- To summarize the updated recommendations for first-line antihypertensive therapies.
- To highlight specific patient groups benefiting from combination therapy.
Summary:
- Diuretics, beta-blockers, calcium antagonists, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, and angiotensin II antagonists remain first-line options.
- Initiating treatment with a fixed-dose combination of two agents with different mechanisms is recommended.
- This approach is particularly indicated for patients with systolic blood pressure > 160 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure > 90 mmHg, and those at high cardiovascular risk.
Impact:
- Provides clinicians with current evidence-based recommendations for hypertension management.
- Facilitates optimized treatment strategies for patients with elevated blood pressure and cardiovascular risk.
- Aims to improve patient outcomes through effective blood pressure control.
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