Global CV risk management a priority, ESH guideline revision considered

S. Kjeldsen, Norway

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“These proposals are going to be discussed with the purpose of trying to reach a consensus with the European Society of Cardiology, at its next meeting, to be held in Barcelona next September,” said Prof. Sverre Kjeldsen, president of the European Society of Hypertension.

“We believe that the management of the cardiovascular risk from a global perspective is a priority,” Kjeldsen stated. This was the main these at the 16th European Meeting on Hypertension held in Madrid, Spain, from June 12-15, 2006.

Kjeldsen reinforced the need for early detection of target organ damage and that this must be included in revised guidelines. “Nowadays there are diagnostic techniques that allow detection in the majority of people problems like kidney failure…Early detection would allow us to start with a treatment, if necessary,” he stated. The presence of more than one risk factor in addition to hypertension means a 20% higher cardiovascular risk over 20 years.

The ESH also highlighted the need for randomized clinical trials to obtain the scientific evidence needed for proposing changes to the current hypertension management guidelines.