Update on diagnosis and treatment of resistant hypertension

Resistant hypertension is an increasingly common medical problem, and patients with this condition are at a high risk of cardiovascular events. The prevalence of resistant hypertension is unknown, but data from clinical trials suggest that 20% to 30% of hypertensive individuals may be resistant to antihypertensive treatment. The evaluation of these patients is focused on identifying true resistant hypertension and contributing and secondary causes of hypertension, including hyperaldosteronism, obstructive sleep apnea, chronic kidney disease, renal artery stenosis, and pheochromocytoma. Treatment includes removal of contributing factors, appropriate management of secondary causes, and use of effective multidrug regimens. More established approaches, such as low dietary salt and mineralocorticoid receptor blockers, and new technologies, such as carotid stimulation and renal denervation, have been used in the management of patients with resistant hypertension.     

Revisiting resistant hypertension: a comprehensive review

Resistant hypertension (RHT) is typically defined as blood pressure that remains above guideline-directed targets despite the use of three anti-hypertensives, usually including a diuretic, at optimal or maximally tolerated doses. It is generally estimated to affect 10–30% of those diagnosed with hypertension, though the true incidence might be lower after one factor in the prevalence of non-adherence. Risk factors for its development include diabetes, obesity and other adverse lifestyle factors, and a diagnosis of RHT confers a greater risk of adverse cardiovascular outcomes, such as stroke, heart failure and mortality. It is essential to exclude pseudoresistance and secondary hypertension and to ensure non-pharmacologic management is optimised prior to consideration of fourth-line anti-hypertensive agents or advanced interventions, such as device therapies. In this review, we will cover the different definitions of RHT, along with the importance of careful diagnosis and management strategies, and discuss newer agents and research needs.     

Overview of resistant hypertension: A glimpse of the cardiologist��s current standpoint

Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease,resulting in increased incidence of cerebrovascular events,ischaemic heart disease,heart failure,and renal impairment.Thus,it is one of the most important preventable causes of premature morbidity and mortality.Despite current knowledge on the management of hypertension and the availability of several effective antihypertensive medications,uncontrolled hypertension remains a common and challenging clinical problem.Resistant hypertension is a complex condition with multiple contributing factors and overlapping comorbidities.Although there is limited hard evidence regarding resistant hypertension,our understanding of this condition has improved recently.This article will present an overview of resistant hypertension and highlight recent publications about this topic.     

Hypertension Canada’s 2020 Evidence Review and Guidelines for the Management of Resistant Hypertension

We present Hypertension Canada’s inaugural evidence-based recommendations for the diagnosis and management of resistant hypertension. Hypertension is present in 21% of the Canadian population, and among those with hypertension, resistant hypertension has an estimated prevalence from 10% to 30%. This subgroup of hypertensive individuals is important, because resistant hypertension portends a high cardiovascular risk. Because of its importance, Hypertension Canada formed a Guidelines Committee to conduct a review of the evidence and develop recommendations for the diagnosis and management of resistant hypertension. The Hypertension Canada Guidelines Committee recommends that patients with blood pressure above target, despite use of 3 or more blood pressure-lowering drugs at optimal doses, preferably including a diuretic, be identified as those with apparent resistant hypertension. Patients identified with apparent resistant hypertension should be assessed for white coat effect, nonadherence, and therapeutic inertia, investigated for secondary hypertension, and referred to a provider with expertise in hypertension. There is no randomized controlled trial evidence for better cardiovascular outcomes with any class of antihypertensive agent at this time, so recommendations for a preferred drug class cannot be made. Furthermore, we provide a summary of the current evidence concerning the role of device therapy in the management of resistant hypertension. We will continue updating the guidelines as additional high-quality evidence with relevance to daily practice becomes available.     

Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in an urban area of Togo: a WHO STEPS-wise approach in Lome,Togo

Objective

To determine the prevalence of hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors in the general adult population of Lome.

Methods

A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in Lome from October 2009 to January 2010, which focused on hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors in 2 000 subjects 18 years and older. The World Health Organisation’s STEPS-wise approach on non-communicable diseases was used. During the first session, blood pressure (BP) was measured on three successive occasions, one minute apart, and the mean was recorded. A second measurement session was done three weeks later in patients with BP ≥ 140/90 mmHg during the first session. Hypertension was defined as BP > 140/90 mmHg after the second session, or on antihypertensive treatment. The other risk factors were studied by clinical and blood analysis.

Results

We found 532 hypertensive patients out of a total of 2 000 subjects. The prevalence of hypertension was 26.6%. The mean age of hypertensive patients was 45 ± 10 years, ranging from 18 to 98 years. The prevalence of other cardiovascular risk factors was: stress (43%), sedentary lifestyle (41%), hypercholesterolaemia (26%), obesity (25.2%), hypertriglyceridaemia (21%), smoking (9.3%), alcohol use (11%) and diabetes (7.3%).

Conclusions

The prevalence of hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors in the population of Lome is high. These findings should draw the attention of authorities to define a national policy to combat hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors.     

Prognostic Importance of Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring in Resistant Hypertension: Is It All that Matters?

Purpose of Review

This article reviews the current knowledge on the prognostic importance of ambulatory blood pressure (BP) monitoring parameters in patients with apparent treatment-resistant hypertension.

Recent Findings

Although mean 24-h ambulatory BPs have been consistently established as better cardiovascular risk predictors than clinic (office) BPs in several clinical settings, and ambulatory BP monitoring is generally indicated in patients with resistant hypertension; there were only five previous longitudinal prospective studies that specifically evaluated the prognostic importance of ambulatory BP monitoring parameters in resistant hypertensive patients. These studies are carefully reviewed here. In conjunction, they demonstrated that office BP levels have little, if any, prognostic value in resistant hypertensive patients. Otherwise, several ambulatory BP monitoring parameters are strong cardiovascular risk predictors, particularly nighttime sleep BPs and the non-dipping pattern. Most relevant, the ambulatory BP monitoring diagnosis of true resistant hypertension (i.e., patients with uncontrolled ambulatory BPs, either daytime or nighttime) doubled the risk of future occurrence of major cardiovascular events in contrast to patients with white-coat resistant hypertension (i.e., with controlled ambulatory BPs despite uncontrolled office BPs).

Summary

This review reinforces the pivotal role of serial ambulatory BP monitoring examinations in the clinical management of patients with resistant hypertension.

     

Resistant hypertension: diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association Professional Education Committee of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research

Resistant hypertension is a common clinical problem faced by both primary care clinicians and specialists. While the exact prevalence of resistant hypertension is unknown, clinical trials suggest that it is not rare, involving perhaps 20% to 30% of study participants. As older age and obesity are 2 of the strongest risk factors for uncontrolled hypertension, the incidence of resistant hypertension will likely increase as the population becomes more elderly and heavier. The prognosis of resistant hypertension is unknown, but cardiovascular risk is undoubtedly increased as patients often have a history of long-standing, severe hypertension complicated by multiple other cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, sleep apnea, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. The diagnosis of resistant hypertension requires use of good blood pressure technique to confirm persistently elevated blood pressure levels. Pseudoresistance, including lack of blood pressure control secondary to poor medication adherence or white coat hypertension, must be excluded. Resistant hypertension is almost always multifactorial in etiology. Successful treatment requires identification and reversal of lifestyle factors contributing to treatment resistance; diagnosis and appropriate treatment of secondary causes of hypertension; and use of effective multidrug regimens. As a subgroup, patients with resistant hypertension have not been widely studied. Observational assessments have allowed for identification of demographic and lifestyle characteristics associated with resistant hypertension, and the role of secondary causes of hypertension in promoting treatment resistance is well documented; however, identification of broader mechanisms of treatment resistance is lacking. In particular, attempts to elucidate potential genetic causes of resistant hypertension have been limited. Recommendations for the pharmacological treatment of resistant hypertension remain largely empiric due to the lack of systematic assessments of 3 or 4 drug combinations. Studies of resistant hypertension are limited by the high cardiovascular risk of patients within this subgroup, which generally precludes safe withdrawal of medications; the presence of multiple disease processes (eg, sleep apnea, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, atherosclerotic disease) and their associated medical therapies, which confound interpretation of study results; and the difficulty in enrolling large numbers of study participants. Expanding our understanding of the causes of resistant hypertension and thereby potentially allowing for more effective prevention and/or treatment will be essential to improve the long-term clinical management of this disorder.     

Resistant hypertension: diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment. A scientific statement from the American Heart Association Professional Education Committee of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research

Resistant hypertension is a common clinical problem faced by both primary care clinicians and specialists. While the exact prevalence of resistant hypertension is unknown, clinical trials suggest that it is not rare, involving perhaps 20% to 30% of study participants. As older age and obesity are 2 of the strongest risk factors for uncontrolled hypertension, the incidence of resistant hypertension will likely increase as the population becomes more elderly and heavier. The prognosis of resistant hypertension is unknown, but cardiovascular risk is undoubtedly increased as patients often have a history of long-standing, severe hypertension complicated by multiple other cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, sleep apnea, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. The diagnosis of resistant hypertension requires use of good blood pressure technique to confirm persistently elevated blood pressure levels. Pseudoresistance, including lack of blood pressure control secondary to poor medication adherence or white coat hypertension, must be excluded. Resistant hypertension is almost always multifactorial in etiology. Successful treatment requires identification and reversal of lifestyle factors contributing to treatment resistance; diagnosis and appropriate treatment of secondary causes of hypertension; and use of effective multidrug regimens. As a subgroup, patients with resistant hypertension have not been widely studied. Observational assessments have allowed for identification of demographic and lifestyle characteristics associated with resistant hypertension, and the role of secondary causes of hypertension in promoting treatment resistance is well documented; however, identification of broader mechanisms of treatment resistance is lacking. In particular, attempts to elucidate potential genetic causes of resistant hypertension have been limited. Recommendations for the pharmacological treatment of resistant hypertension remain largely empiric due to the lack of systematic assessments of 3 or 4 drug combinations. Studies of resistant hypertension are limited by the high cardiovascular risk of patients within this subgroup, which generally precludes safe withdrawal of medications; the presence of multiple disease processes (eg, sleep apnea, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, atherosclerotic disease) and their associated medical therapies, which confound interpretation of study results; and the difficulty in enrolling large numbers of study participants. Expanding our understanding of the causes of resistant hypertension and thereby potentially allowing for more effective prevention and/or treatment will be essential to improve the long-term clinical management of this disorder.     

Exercise training in the management of patients with resistant hypertension

Hypertension is a very prevalent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. The prevalence of resistant hypertension, i.e., uncontrolled hypertension with 3 or more antihypertensive agents including 1 diuretic, is between 5% and 30% in the hypertensive population. The causes of resistant hypertension are multifactorial and include behavioral and biological factors, such as nonadherence to pharmacological treatment. All current treatment guidelines highlight the positive role of physical exercise as a non-pharmacological tool in the treatment of hypertension. This paper draws attention to the possible role of physical exercise as an adjunct non-pharmacological tool in the management of resistant hypertension. A few studies have investigated it, employing different methodologies, and taken together they have shown promising results. In summary, the available evidence suggests that aerobic physical exercise could be a valuable addition to the optimal pharmacological treatment of patients with resistant hypertension.     

Expert panel consensus recommendations for ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in Asia: The HOPE Asia Network

Hypertension is an important public health issue because of its association with a number of significant diseases and adverse outcomes. However, there are important ethnic differences in the pathogenesis and cardio‐/cerebrovascular consequences of hypertension. Given the large populations and rapidly aging demographic in Asian regions, optimal strategies to diagnose and manage hypertension are of high importance. Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) is an important out‐of‐office blood pressure (BP) measurement tool that should play a central role in hypertension detection and management. The use of ABPM is particularly important in Asia due to the specific features of hypertension in Asian patients, including a high prevalence of masked hypertension, disrupted BP variability with marked morning BP surge, and nocturnal hypertension. This HOPE Asia Network document summarizes region‐specific literature on the relationship between ABPM parameters and cardiovascular risk and target organ damage, providing a rationale for consensus‐based recommendations on the use of ABPM in Asia. The aim of these recommendations is to guide and improve clinical practice to facilitate optimal BP monitoring with the goal of optimizing patient management and expediting the efficient allocation of treatment and health care resources. This should contribute to the HOPE Asia Network mission of improving the management of hypertension and organ protection toward achieving “zero” cardiovascular events in Asia.     

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of Chinese patients with coronary heart disease and resistant hypertension

There is currently few research on clinical characteristics and outcomes of coronary heart disease (CHD) with resistant hypertension in central region of China. This study aimed to assess the risk factors and outcomes of CHD and resistant hypertension in population of central region of China. A total of 1467 CHD patients with hypertension were included and considered to three groups according to blood pressure control: controlled group (blood pressure < 140/90 mmHg on three or less antihypertensive drugs); uncontrolled group (blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mmHg on two or less antihypertensive drugs); or resistant group (blood pressure ≥ 140/90 mmHg on three antihypertensive drugs or < 140/90 mmHg on at least four antihypertensive drugs including diuretic). The authors evaluated the clinical outcomes of three groups at 1-year follow-up. The prevalence of resistant hypertension was 21.8%. Significant adjusted associated factors of resistant hypertension included per unit changes body mass index (BMI, OR 1.12), and four categorical variable diagnosis by yes or no: heart failure (HF, OR 2.62), left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH, OR 2.83), diabetes (OR 1.55), and chronic kidney disease (CKD, OR 1.63). In multiple adjusted Cox regression analysis, patients in resistant group had a higher risk of the primary outcome (HR, 2.14 [95% CI, 1.47–3.11]; p < .001). Moreover, the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in patients with resistant hypertension is also significantly increased (HR, 2.11 [95% CI, 1.39–3.20]; p < .001). In conclusion, resistant hypertension was a quite common and high proportion finding in patients with CHD and hypertension in central region of China, and these patients have a worse clinical prognosis.     

国家基层高血压防治管理指南2020版

心血管疾病已成为我国首位死亡原因,管理好高血压患者是遏制我国心脑血管疾病流行的核心策略之一。基层医疗卫生机构通过国家基本公共卫生服务项目对高血压患者进行长期随访管理,本指南旨在为基层医务人员提供高血压防治管理的简单直接的操作指导。在2017版基础上,基于政府部门的管理要求和新近发布的相关领域研究证据,本指南主要在高血压的基层管理、血压测量、降压目标值以及降脂治疗目标值等内容上进行了更新。此外,首次增加了中医药在高血压领域的应用相关内容,为基层医务人员在高血压管理方面提供更全面的指导。     

Detection,evaluation, and treatment of severe and resistant hypertension: Proceedings from an American Society of Hypertension Interactive Forum held in Bethesda,MD, USA,October 10th 2013

The epidemiology, evaluation, and management of severe and resistant hypertension in the United States (US) are evolving. The American Society of Hypertension held a multi-disciplinary forum in October 2013 to review the available evidence related to the management of resistant hypertension with both drug and device therapies. There is strong evidence that resistant hypertension is an important clinical problem in the US and many other regions of the world. Complex drug therapy is effective in most of the patients with severe and resistant hypertension, but there are certain individuals who may be refractory to multiple-drug regimens or have adverse effects that make adherence to the regimen difficult. When secondary forms of hypertension and pseudo-resistance, such as medication nonadherence, or white-coat hypertension based on marked differences between clinic and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, have been excluded, the impact of device therapy is under evaluation through clinical trials in the US and from clinical practice registries in Europe and Australia. Clinical trial data have been obtained primarily in patients whose resistant hypertension is defined as systolic clinic blood pressures of ≥160 mm Hg (or ≥ 150 mm Hg in type 2 diabetes) despite pharmacologic treatment with at least three antihypertensive drugs (one of which is a thiazide or loop diuretic). Baroreceptor stimulation therapy has shown modest benefit in a moderately sized sham-controlled study in drug-resistant hypertension. Patients selected for renal denervation have typically been restricted to those with preserved kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥ 45 mL/min/1.73 m²). The first sham-controlled safety and efficacy trial for renal denervation (SYMPLICITY HTN-3) did not show benefit in this population when used in addition to an average of five antihypertensive medications. Analyses of controlled clinical trial data from future trials with novel designs will be of critical importance to determine the effectiveness of device therapy for patients with severe and resistant hypertension and will allow for proper determination of patient selection and whether it will be acceptable for clinical practice. At present, the focus on the management of severe and resistant hypertension will be through careful evaluation for pseudo-resistance and secondary forms of hypertension, appropriate use of combination pharmacologic therapy, and greater utility of specialists in hypertension.     

Left ventricular hypertrophy in hypertensive patients. Epidemiology and prognosis

The aim of this review is to analyze the epidemiology and prognosis of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in hypertensive patients through literature data and to identify clinical factors contributing to its development. After an exhaustive review of literature through Medline database, eighteen studies (including 8 European ones) have been selected. The prevalence of LVH diagnosed by EKG (7 studies) is steadily over 15%. It can reach 50% in some subgroups of the Framingham study. Among 11 studies using echocardiography as diagnostic tool, the prevalence varies from 14 to 44% (Bordeaux cohort). In the Framingham study, 32% of men and 45% of women over 60 years presented an echography-defined LVH. The variations observed in different studies may be explained by differences on the modes of enrollment and diagnosis. The clinical factors associated with the occurrence of LVH are age, which can be confounded with the duration of presence of hypertension, the severity and lack of therapeutic management of hypertension. Thirteen studies permitted to quantify the cardiovascular risk related to hypertension. In hypertensive patients, the presence of EKG-LVH or the one observed by echocardiography would correspond to a two-fold increase of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity. Moreover, a cardiovascular risk gradient is observed according to the LVH geometry (concentric remodeling, followed by eccentric LVH and concentric LVH). Three studies including the Framingham study demonstrated that LVH is a major risk factor of stroke. This exhaustive literature review stresses on the high prevalence and the severity of LVH during hypertension. Its diagnosis allows to identify high cardiovascular risk patients suffering from hypertension. It emphasizes on the importance of an early and careful therapeutic management of hypertension.     

Kidney and cardiovascular risk in primary hypertension

In patients with primary hypertension,therapeutic strategies should be based on global cardiovascular risk profile rather than on the severity of blood pressure alone.Accurate assessment of concomitant risk factors and especially of the presence and extent of subclinical organ damage is of paramount importance in definingindividual risk.Given the high prevalence of hypertension in the population at large,however,extensive diagnostic evaluation is often impractical or unfeasible in clinical practice.Low cost,easy to use markers of risk are needed to improve the clinical management of patients with hypertension.Early renal abnormalities such as a slight reduction in glomerular filtration rate and/or the presence of microalbuminuria are well known and powerful predictors of cardio-renal morbidity and mortality and provide a useful,low cost tools to optimize cardiovascular risk assessment.A greater use of these tests should therefore be implemented in clinical practice in order to optimize the management of hypertensive patients.     

Clinical value of microalbuminuria in hypertension

Microalbuminuria (MA) is a well recognized marker of cardiovascular complications in hypertension, but whether MA can predict adverse outcome in this clinical condition is still a subject for debate. The fact that in hypertensive cohorts those patients who showed an increase in albumin excretion rate also manifested an increased incidence of morbid events indicates that the presence of MA in hypertension may carry an increased cardiovascular risk. However, the prognostic significance of MA remains controversial because no results of prospective studies performed in hypertensive subjects without diabetes mellitus are available. Several factors can affect the prevalence of MA in hypertension, including severity of the disease, selection procedures, concomitant risk factors, degree of obesity, age, and sex distribution. This accounts for the large differences in the prevalence of MA that can be found in the literature, with prevalence rates going from a low of 4.7% to a high of 40%. There is still conflict over whether MA in hypertension is due to increased intraglomerular pressure or to glomerular damage. The data from the literature suggest that in subjects with mild hypertension the main determinant of albumin excretion rate is the haemodynamic load. In subjects with more severe hypertension and hypertensive complications, the augmented urinary albumin leak is probably the consequence of a systemic microvascular disturbance which involves the glomeruli. In this respect, the insulin resistance state often associated to high blood pressure appears as one of the main pathogenetic factors. Whether management of hypertensive populations may be improved by monitoring of albumin excretion rate and whether antihypertensive drugs which are more effective in decreasing urinary albumin can be more beneficial in patients with MA remains to be determined.     

The Importance of Managing Hypertension and Dyslipidemia to Decrease Cardiovascular Disease

Background Clinical management of two key modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypertension and dyslipidemia, has evolved considerably over the past 40 years, in terms of the focus of therapy, available pharmacologic agents, and therapeutic targets. Materials and methods A brief review of the epidemiology of hypertension and hyperlipidemia and of controlled clinical trials of pharmacologic therapy of these conditions in decreasing cardiovascular events is presented. Results Risk factors for CVD generally do not occur in isolation, and the co-occurrence of hypertension and dyslipidemia, with or without other additional risk factors, greatly increases the risk of CVD. Clinical trials performed in the last 40 years have demonstrated the clinical benefit of treating hypertension and dyslipidemia. Recent trials have shown that intensive, early management of these risk factors provide the greatest clinical benefits. Emerging evidence suggests that lipid management provides clinical benefit in patients at high risk of CVD, regardless of their baseline cholesterol levels, and that lipid-lowering with statin therapy provides additional benefits over antihypertensive therapy alone in high-risk patients with hypertension. It has become evident that the most effective means of reducing CVD risk is the simultaneous management of all modifiable risk factors. Treatment of an individual risk factor can reduce CVD events by approximately 30%, whereas treatment of multiple risk factors can reduce the risk of CVD by more than 50%. However, a large number of patients are not treated or receive suboptimal treatment. Conclusions Overwhelming controlled clinical trial evidence supports the clinical benefit of treating hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. Fixed-dose combination medications for hypertension, and integrative combination therapies containing antihypertensive and lipid-lowering medications in a single pill contribute to better risk factor management with the potential for greater adherence and improved clinical outcomes.     

Hypertension and atrial fibrillation: diagnostic approach, prevention and treatment. Position paper of the Working Group 'Hypertension Arrhythmias and Thrombosis' of the European Society of Hypertension

Hypertension is the most common cardiovascular disorder and atrial fibrillation is the most common clinically significant arrhythmia. Both these conditions frequently coexist and their prevalence increases rapidly with aging. There are different risk factors and clinical conditions predisposing to the development of atrial fibrillation, but due its high prevalence, hypertension is still the main risk factor for the development of atrial fibrillation. Several pathophysiologic mechanisms (such as structural changes, neurohormonal activation, fibrosis, atherosclerosis, etc.) have been advocated to explain the onset of atrial fibrillation. The presence of atrial fibrillation per se increases the risk of stroke but its coexistence with high blood pressure leads to an abrupt increase of cardiovascular complications. Different risk models are available for the risk stratification and the prevention of thromboembolism in patients with atrial fibrillation. In all of them hypertension is present and is an important risk factor. Antihypertensive treatment may contribute to reduce this risk, and it seems some classes are superior to others in the prevention of new-onset atrial fibrillation and prevention of stroke. Antithrombotic treatment with warfarin is effective in the prevention of thromboembolic events, although quite recently, new classes of anticoagulants that do not require international normalized ratio monitoring have been introduced with promising results.     

Clinical features of 8295 patients with resistant hypertension classified on the basis of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring

We aimed to estimate the prevalence of resistant hypertension through both office and ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in a large cohort of treated hypertensive patients from the Spanish Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring Registry. In addition, we also compared clinical features of patients with true or white-coat-resistant hypertension. In December 2009, we identified 68 045 treated patients with complete information for this analysis. Among them, 8295 (12.2% of the database) had resistant hypertension (office blood pressure ≥140 and/or 90 mm Hg while being treated with ≥3 antihypertensive drugs, 1 of them being a diuretic). After ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, 62.5% of patients were classified as true resistant hypertensives, the remaining 37.5% having white-coat resistance. The former group was younger, more frequently men, with a longer duration of hypertension and a worse cardiovascular risk profile. The group included larger proportions of smokers, diabetics, target organ damage (including left ventricular hypertrophy, impaired renal function, and microalbuminuria), and documented cardiovascular disease. Moreover, true resistant hypertensives exhibited in a greater proportion a riser pattern (22% versus 18%; P<0.001). In conclusion, this study first reports the prevalence of resistant hypertension in a large cohort of patients in usual daily practice. Resistant hypertension is present in 12% of the treated hypertensive population, but among them more than one third have normal ambulatory blood pressure. A worse risk profile is associated with true resistant hypertension, but this association is weak, thus making it necessary to assess ambulatory blood pressure monitoring for a correct diagnosis and management.     

Prevalence of microalbuminuria in hypertensive patients and its associated cardiovascular risk in clinical cardiology: Moroccan results of the global i-SEAR CH survey – a sub-analysis of a survey with 21 050 patients in 26 countries worldwide

Objectives

To determine the prevalence of microalbuminuria (MAU) in hypertensive outpatients visiting a cardiologist’s office or clinic and to describe the relationship between MAU and cardiovascular risk factors.

Methods

This was an international, observational, cross-sectional study of 22 282 patients, with 457 subjects from Morocco in 40 cardiology centres. Inclusion criteria were: male and female outpatients aged ≥ 18 years with currently treated or newly diagnosed hypertension (≥ 140/90 mmHg at rest on the day of the study visit) and no reason for false positive microalbuminuria dipstick tests.

Outcome measures

Prevalence of microalbuminuria assessed using a dipstick test, co-morbid cardiovascular risk factors or disease and their relationship with the presence of MAU, and role of pharmacotherapy in modulating the prevalence of MAU.

Results

The prevalence of microalbuminuria in hypertensive patients in Morocco (67.8%) was high compared to the worldwide prevalence (58.3%). Despite the fact that all physicians regarded MAU as important for risk assessment and therapeutic decisions, routine MAU measurement was performed in only 35% of the practices. In clinical cardiology, MAU is highly correlated with a wide variety of cardiovascular risk factors and cardiovascular disease.While angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) appeared to be associated with the lowest risk of MAU, calcium channel blockers (CCBs) were more often used in this patient group.

Conclusions

Hypertensive, high-risk cardiovascular patients are common in clinical cardiology. Given the high prevalence detected, screening of MAU in addition to more aggressive multi-factorial treatment to reduce blood pressure as well as other cardiovascular risk factors is required.