Mechanism of Action Central sympatholytics (e.g., methyldopa, guanabenz, guanfacine, clonidine, moxonidine, and rilmenidine) have a variety of antihypertensive actions that result in increased sodium excretion and decreases in the cardiac…
Primary, formerly essential, hypertension accounts for about 90% of cases of hypertension. Reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in patients with primary hypertension reduces the risk for cardiovascular (CV)…
High blood pressure (BP) is the leading risk factor for global morbidity and mortality. Clinical trials in hypertension have largely focused on the efficacy of oral medications to lower BP…
Calcium channel blockers (CCB) have extensive therapeutic applications. Three CCB were listed in the forty most commonly used prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs in the Slone Survey of Recent Medication Use…
The renin angiotensin aldosterone (RAA) system plays a central role in regulating cardiovascular and renal functions, and is a key component of the blood pressure homeostasis system in humans. Renal…
The Sympathetic Nervous System in Hypertension The notion that sympathetic fibers are found on the vascular wall and when stimulated cause vasoconstriction was proposed in 1840. The activity of these…
Diuretics are one of the most important classes of drugs used in hypertension. In simplistic terms, the basic premise for their use is that they reduce extracellular fluid volume and…
Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Hypertension Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and hypertension are common medical conditions which often coexist. Is there is a causal relationship between these two conditions? This question…
For many years, clinicians have used diastolic blood pressure as the main risk indicator in hypertensive patients. However, several developments have caused a paradigmatic shift in our thinking about hypertension…
Our knowledge about the natural history of untreated hypertension is mainly based on historical information from a relatively short duration of time (1900s to 1970s). During that period, there was…
