Prevalence and correlates of multiple organ damage in referred treated hypertensives: data from the ETODH study

Cardiovascular risk stratification and antihypertensive therapy according to guidelines in the outpatient setting

“…reported from a cross-sectional Spanish study including 420, somewhat younger patients with essential hypertension treated in hypertension clinics and community hospitals [8]. Somewhat higher rates of organ damages were reported in the ETHOD study where among 2213 hypertensive subjects systematically investigated in an outpatient hypertension clinic, 46.5% had left ventricular hypertrophy, 44.1% carotid plaques, 19.1% microalbuminuria and 3.1% an increased serum creatinine [6]. Thus, it seems that the Austrian practitioners selected their more severe patients for participation in this study.…”

“…Only a small fraction of hypertensive patients has an elevated blood pressure alone whereas concomitant metabolic disorders, subclinical and manifest organ damages are present very frequently [6]. New concepts take this into account by assessment of the total cardiovascular risk [7].…”

Effects of antihypertensive drugs on carotid intima-media thickness: Focus on angiotensin II receptor blockers. A review of randomized, controlled trials

“…Numerous studies based on high-definition ultrasound scanning of carotid arteries have demonstrated an association between intima-media thickness (IMT) and cardiovascular (CV) risk factors,1–3 preclinical CV alterations such as left ventricular hypertrophy, cerebral white matter lesions, peripheral arterial atherosclerosis, microalbuminuria, coronary calcifications4–7 and, more importantly, overt CV diseases 8. In particular, high blood pressure (BP) has been shown to be a major risk factor for carotid IM thickening and plaque progression,9 due to the synergistic effect of mechanical stress on the arterial wall and growth/inflammatory factors operating in hypertension.…”

Hypertension treatment and control evolution from single risk and single organ to multirisks and multiorgans

“…In this issue of the Journal of Human Hypertension, Cuspidi et al 13 describe the potential impact of multiple organ damage among individuals treated for hypertension. The first important finding with clinical implication is the relatively high prevalence of hypertensive patients with multiple organ damage.…”

“…Cuspidi et al 13 have also shown that the treatment of hypertension is more complex when multiple organs are involved. Blood pressure reduction was less with the increasing number of organs affected.…”