[Management of a first antihypertensive treatment]

The first prescription for high blood pressure should be the fruit of clear thinking about the goals of the treatment and the best means to achieve these goals for each individual patient. The aim of treatment is not only to lower arterial blood pressure, but also to ensure the best possible prevention against cardiovascular risks in the hypertensive patient. Several factors are involved, notably metabolic factors. In addition, the relationships between high blood pressure and structural disorders in the heart, the brain and the kidneys causing hypertension-related lethality and mortality result from a complex interrelationship between genetic phenomena. The socioeconomic aspect of high blood pressure cannot be ignored due to the high prevalence of the disease. The patient's quality of life during treatment directly affects his compliance to a therapeutic regimen. The general practitioner thus plays a predominant role in caring for the hypertensive patient, justifying the importance clinicians attach to continuing medical education on hypertension.