Abstract
Hypertension is diagnosed if a blood pressure greater than 150/95 mm Hg is obtained in both upper extremities in individuals less than 50 years of age on at least three office visits. It is an extremely common syndrome affecting over 23,000,000 people in the United States. The complications of hypertension are reversible if the syndrome is recognized early and treated adequately. Probably the single most significant study illustrating the effects of antihypertensive therapy in controlling the morbid events caused by hypertension was the V.A. Cooperative Study initiated in 1963. If individuals with diastolic blood pressures between 115 and 129 mm Hg were vigorously treated, morbid events (cerebrovascular accidents, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, or renal damage) were significantly reduced within 18 months of followup. For those individuals with diastolic blood pressures between 90 and 114 mm Hg, 36 months of followup were required to document a reduction in these morbid events. The results of the V.A. Cooperative Study clearly defined the beneficial effects of therapy in patients with severe (diastolic blood pressure greater than 115 mm Hg) hypertension.
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General Articles
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© 1983 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Harter, H.R. (1983). Pathophysiology of Hypertension. In: Klahr, S. (eds) The Kidney and Body Fluids in Health and Disease. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3524-5_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3524-5_10
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