Treatment in primary hypertension
Is it Time to Say Farewell to Beta-Blockers?

Bye Bye Beta-Blockers? While some hypertension guidelines (e.g. ESH/ESC 2007) still recommend beta-blockers as first-line drugs in the treatment of primary hypertension, investigators are asking whether it’s time to say farewell to  beta-blockers in this setting.

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Lifestyle Trends
The Good and the Bad from the EUROASPIRE Surveys

In 1994, the European Society of Hypertension (ESH), the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), and the European Atherosclerosis Society published joint recommendations on the prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD).

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Clinical Trial
Further Results of the Hypertension in the Very Elderly Trial (HYVET)

Even the Very Elderly Benefit from BP Treatment
Although the very elderly are among the fastest growing segments of society in most developed countries, these individuals ─ 80 years of age and older ─ are often not included or recruited into clinical trials. As a result, many benefits and risks of treating this population remain unclear.

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Preliminary data: Finn-HOME study
Home BP: The Best Predictor of Mortality

With greater availability of various devices, monitoring blood pressure (BP) levels at home is more feasible than it used to be and it is enjoying growing interest among patients.

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Lecture
Is Physician’s Inertia a Major Cause of Not Reaching Target Blood Pressure?

Targeting BP Requires Targeting Inertia
Hypertension is not well-controlled in Europe. According to the ESH, blood pressure (BP) control rates range from a low of 12% in Poland to about one-third in France, Greece, and Spain.

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Study & analysis
Optimal BP for High-Risk Patients: Subanalysis of the CASE-J Trial

The recently published CASE-J trial was the first large-scale Japanese outcome study comparing candesartan- and amlodipine-based therapies. (1) Among 4,703 high-risk hypertensive patients, candesartan- and amlodipine-based regimens produced no statistical differences in terms of the incidence of cardiovascular (CV) events.

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Implementing guidelines
It is working in Canada! Report on behalf of the Canadian Hypertension Education Program

Poor BP Control? Don’t Blame Canada
The prevalence of hypertension continues to increase globally and education and guidelines both seem to have limited impact. With very few models for successful national programs, Canada seems to at least have a very good start at implementing a program with remarkable results.

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