From the Guidelines
Hypertension (HTN) is the most common chronic condition.
Key Points
- It affects approximately 78 million people in the United States 1.
- HTN is a risk factor for various diseases, including:
- Coronary artery disease
- Congestive heart failure
- Stroke
- End-stage renal disease
- Peripheral vascular disease 1
- A direct linear relationship exists between blood pressure and cardiovascular events, as well as between blood pressure and renal disease, starting from a systolic blood pressure as low as 110 mm Hg 1.
- Reducing systolic blood pressure by as little as 10 mm Hg can decrease the risk of cardiovascular or stroke death 1.
From the Research
Most Common Disease
The question of what is the most common disease is not directly addressed in the provided studies. However, the studies do discuss the prevalence and treatment of hypertension, which is a common condition.
Hypertension Prevalence
- Hypertension is a significant health issue, with many patients failing to achieve the recommended target blood pressure of <140/90 mm Hg 2.
- Most patients with hypertension in the United States and Europe require combination therapy to achieve blood pressure control 3.
- The majority of patients with hypertension will require combination therapy with at least two agents from different antihypertensive classes to achieve blood pressure control 4.
Treatment of Hypertension
- Thiazide diuretics, such as hydrochlorothiazide, are widely used in combination therapy for hypertension 4, 5.
- The combination of valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide is an effective treatment for patients with hypertension, with a similar adverse event profile to placebo 5.
- First-line low-dose thiazides have been shown to reduce mortality, stroke, coronary heart disease, and total cardiovascular events in adult patients with moderate to severe primary hypertension 2.