The Demystification of Secondary Hypertension: Diagnostic Strategies and Treatment Algorithms

Hypertension is one of the most common conditions encountered in the primary care setting, affecting 32-46% of people. While essential or primary hypertension is the most common form of the disease, secondary hypertension is quite prevalent, occurring in 10-20% of patients with hypertension. Accurately diagnosing secondary hypertension is a challenging and often time-consuming process that requires considerable expertise and effort. However, once the secondary etiology is identified, the patient benefits profoundly from a potentially curative treatment that may lead to significant improvements in quality of life, morbidity, and mortality.

Common causes of secondary hypertension include medication-induced hypertension, renal parenchymal disease, renovascular hypertension, obstructive sleep apnea, and primary aldosteronism. Other rarer forms include mineralocorticoid-driven hypertension or its mimics, as well as hypercortisolism and pheochromocytoma. Although complex, standard protocols have emerged for investigation, diagnosis, and treatment of these conditions. The current review aims to elucidate the many causes of secondary hypertension and describe their respective prevalence, clinical presentation, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. By demystifying secondary hypertension, it is hoped that this disease will be more easily identified and treated so that the associated cardiovascular morbidity and end-organ damage may be mitigated.