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Published on: September 26, 2018

Cardiovascular risk stratification in unselected primary care patients with newly detected arterial hypertension

Thomas Dieterle1, Joerg-Peter Sigle, Gunar Bengel

  • 1Medical Outpatient Department, University Hospital Basel, Basel, Switzerland. dieterlet@uhbs.ch

Hypertension Research : Official Journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension
|April 10, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Newly detected arterial hypertension patients often have high cardiovascular risk. Many exhibit multiple risk factors and target organ damage, necessitating early intervention for better outcomes.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Hypertension Research
  • Preventive Medicine

Background:

  • Cardiovascular risk (CVR) stratification is crucial for managing arterial hypertension.
  • Limited data exist on CVR factors (CVRFs), target organ damage (TOD), and overall CVR in newly diagnosed hypertensive outpatients.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess CVRFs, TOD, and overall CVR in general medical outpatients with newly detected arterial hypertension.
  • To analyze the prevalence of these factors using comprehensive diagnostic methods.

Main Methods:

  • Screened 2615 outpatients for elevated office blood pressure (OBP).
  • Analyzed data from 212 patients with newly detected hypertension, including OBP, ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) monitoring, fundoscopy, urinalysis, ECG, and echocardiography.
  • Calculated CVR using WHO/ISH guidelines.

Main Results:

  • 76.9% of patients had sustained hypertension based on ABP monitoring.
  • 61.3% had 1-2 CVRFs, and 33.0% had ≥3 CVRFs.
  • 26.4% showed TOD, 5.6% had diabetes, and 7.1% had associated clinical conditions (ACCs).
  • 71.7% of patients were classified as high CVR risk.

Conclusions:

  • Newly detected arterial hypertension in general medical outpatients is frequently associated with multiple CVRFs, TOD, and ACCs.
  • The majority of these patients present with high overall cardiovascular risk, underscoring the need for early and comprehensive management.
  • No significant differences in CVRFs, TOD, or ACCs were observed between white coat and sustained hypertensives.

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