Vaskulárna medicína 1/2013

Arterial hypertension – a risk factor for cardiovascular complications

Arterial hypertension is a major risk factor for other cardiovascular disease, particularly ischemic heart disease, heart failure, stroke, cardiac arrhythmias and peripheral arterial disease. It significantly also participates in the development and progression of renal failure. With many other factors it is involved in the process of developing atherosclerosis and is also part of the metabolic syndrome. Due to pandemic incidence of arterial hypertension it is a problem not only medical, but also socio-economic. Special attention should be paid to resistant hypertension which prevalence increases with age. For the diagnosis of arterial hypertension is a proven method the ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. The problem of adherence to medical therapy can significantly relieve the fixed combination of antihypertensive drugs, which are indicated not only in geriatric patients, but also in hypertensive patients with diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome and target organ damage.

Keywords: arterial hypertension, resistant hypertension, causes, complications, ABPM.