[Essential hypertension--syndrome, or compensatory mechanism]

Diagnosis of essential hypertension is created per exclusionem--with exclusion of all, so called secondary hypertensions (nephrogenic, endocrine conditioned etc). Idea and the name-essential hypertension are unclear. We have a lot of hypotheses about mechanisms of hypertension but no one is explaining satisfactorily the "fixation" of hypertension. From this point of view essential hypertension looks more like a syndrome than disease sui generis. Authors analyzed all possible pathways of hypertension origin as well as compensatory mechanisms in peripheral circulation in effort to reach relevant tissue perfusion. If these mechanisms lead to salt and water retention the best mode of the treatment would be to influence volume and blood vessels lumen. It is clear that optimization of blood pressure is advantageous for prevention of vascular catastrophes (myocardial and cerebral infarction). Nevertheless inadequate lowering of the peripheral tissue perfusion (kidney, CNS) can lead to degenerative changes in tissues and to disturbances in centrally regulated processes of blood pressure.