There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

"The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection,
Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure" provides a new guideline
for hypertension prevention and management. The following are the key messages(1) In persons older than 50 years, systolic blood pressure (BP) of
more than 140 mm Hg is a much more important cardiovascular disease
(CVD) risk factor than diastolic BP; (2) The risk of CVD, beginning at 115/75
mm Hg, doubles with each increment of 20/10 mm Hg; individuals who are normotensive
at 55 years of age have a 90% lifetime risk for developing hypertension; (3)
Individuals with a systolic BP of 120 to 139 mm Hg or a diastolic BP of 80
to 89 mm Hg should be considered as prehypertensive and require health-promoting
lifestyle modifications to prevent CVD; (4) Thiazide-type diuretics should
be used in drug treatment for most patients with uncomplicated hypertension,
either alone or combined with drugs from other classes. Certain high-risk
conditions are compelling indications for the initial use of other antihypertensive
drug classes (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor
blockers, β-blockers, calcium channel blockers); (5) Most patients with
hypertension will require 2 or more antihypertensive medications to achieve
goal BP (<140/90 mm Hg, or <130/80 mm Hg for patients with diabetes
or chronic kidney disease); (6) If BP is more than 20/10 mm Hg above goal
BP, consideration should be given to initiating therapy with 2 agents, 1 of
which usually should be a thiazide-type diuretic; and (7) The most effective
therapy prescribed by the most careful clinician will control hypertension
only if patients are motivated. Motivation improves when patients have positive
experiences with and trust in the clinician. Empathy builds trust and is a
potent motivator. Finally, in presenting these guidelines, the committee recognizes
that the responsible physician's judgment remains paramount.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/articlepdf/196589/JSC30096.pdf

The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure: the JNC 7 report.

The National High Blood Pressure Education Program presents the complete Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. Like its predecessors, the purpose is to provide an evidence-based approach to the prevention and management of hypertension. The key messages of this report are these: in those older than age 50, systolic blood pressure (BP) of greater than 140 mm Hg is a more important cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor than diastolic BP; beginning at 115/75 mm Hg, CVD risk doubles for each increment of 20/10 mm Hg; those who are normotensive at 55 years of age will have a 90% lifetime risk of developing hypertension; prehypertensive individuals (systolic BP 120-139 mm Hg or diastolic BP 80-89 mm Hg) require health-promoting lifestyle modifications to prevent the progressive rise in blood pressure and CVD; for uncomplicated hypertension, thiazide diuretic should be used in drug treatment for most, either alone or combined with drugs from other classes; this report delineates specific high-risk conditions that are compelling indications for the use of other antihypertensive drug classes (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin-receptor blockers, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers); two or more antihypertensive medications will be required to achieve goal BP (<140/90 mm Hg, or <130/80 mm Hg) for patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease; for patients whose BP is more than 20 mm Hg above the systolic BP goal or more than 10 mm Hg above the diastolic BP goal, initiation of therapy using two agents, one of which usually will be a thiazide diuretic, should be considered; regardless of therapy or care, hypertension will be controlled only if patients are motivated to stay on their treatment plan. Positive experiences, trust in the clinician, and empathy improve patient motivation and satisfaction. This report serves as a guide, and the committee continues to recognize that the responsible physician's judgment remains paramount.

Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure

ABCD
: Appropriate Blood pressure Control in Diabetes
ABI
: ankle–brachial index
ABPM
: ambulatory blood pressure monitoring
ACCESS
: Acute Candesartan Cilexetil Therapy in Stroke Survival
ACCOMPLISH
: Avoiding Cardiovascular Events in Combination Therapy in Patients Living with Systolic Hypertension
ACCORD
: Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes
ACE
: angiotensin-converting enzyme
ACTIVE I
: Atrial Fibrillation Clopidogrel Trial with Irbesartan for Prevention of Vascular Events
ADVANCE
: Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron-MR Controlled Evaluation
AHEAD
: Action for HEAlth in Diabetes
ALLHAT
: Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart ATtack
ALTITUDE
: ALiskiren Trial In Type 2 Diabetes Using Cardio-renal Endpoints
ANTIPAF
: ANgioTensin II Antagonist In Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
APOLLO
: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Aliskiren in the Prevention of Major Cardiovascular Events in Elderly People
ARB
: angiotensin receptor blocker
ARIC
: Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities
ARR
: aldosterone renin ratio
ASCOT
: Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial
ASCOT-LLA
: Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial—Lipid Lowering Arm
ASTRAL
: Angioplasty and STenting for Renal Artery Lesions
A-V
: atrioventricular
BB
: beta-blocker
BMI
: body mass index
BP
: blood pressure
BSA
: body surface area
CA
: calcium antagonist
CABG
: coronary artery bypass graft
CAPPP
: CAPtopril Prevention Project
CAPRAF
: CAndesartan in the Prevention of Relapsing Atrial Fibrillation
CHD
: coronary heart disease
CHHIPS
: Controlling Hypertension and Hypertension Immediately Post-Stroke
CKD
: chronic kidney disease
CKD-EPI
: Chronic Kidney Disease—EPIdemiology collaboration
CONVINCE
: Controlled ONset Verapamil INvestigation of CV Endpoints
CT
: computed tomography
CV
: cardiovascular
CVD
: cardiovascular disease
D
: diuretic
DASH
: Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension
DBP
: diastolic blood pressure
DCCT
: Diabetes Control and Complications Study
DIRECT
: DIabetic REtinopathy Candesartan Trials
DM
: diabetes mellitus
DPP-4
: dipeptidyl peptidase 4
EAS
: European Atherosclerosis Society
EASD
: European Association for the Study of Diabetes
ECG
: electrocardiogram
EF
: ejection fraction
eGFR
: estimated glomerular filtration rate
ELSA
: European Lacidipine Study on Atherosclerosis
ESC
: European Society of Cardiology
ESH
: European Society of Hypertension
ESRD
: end-stage renal disease
EXPLOR
: Amlodipine–Valsartan Combination Decreases Central Systolic Blood Pressure more Effectively than the Amlodipine–Atenolol Combination
FDA
: U.S. Food and Drug Administration
FEVER
: Felodipine EVent Reduction study
GISSI-AF
: Gruppo Italiano per lo Studio della Sopravvivenza nell'Infarto Miocardico-Atrial Fibrillation
HbA1c
: glycated haemoglobin
HBPM
: home blood pressure monitoring
HOPE
: Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation
HOT
: Hypertension Optimal Treatment
HRT
: hormone replacement therapy
HT
: hypertension
HYVET
: HYpertension in the Very Elderly Trial
IMT
: intima-media thickness
I-PRESERVE
: Irbesartan in Heart Failure with Preserved Systolic Function
INTERHEART
: Effect of Potentially Modifiable Risk Factors associated with Myocardial Infarction in 52 Countries
INVEST
: INternational VErapamil SR/T Trandolapril
ISH
: Isolated systolic hypertension
JNC
: Joint National Committee
JUPITER
: Justification for the Use of Statins in Primary Prevention: an Intervention Trial Evaluating Rosuvastatin
LAVi
: left atrial volume index
LIFE
: Losartan Intervention For Endpoint Reduction in Hypertensives
LV
: left ventricle/left ventricular
LVH
: left ventricular hypertrophy
LVM
: left ventricular mass
MDRD
: Modification of Diet in Renal Disease
MRFIT
: Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial
MRI
: magnetic resonance imaging
NORDIL
: The Nordic Diltiazem Intervention study
OC
: oral contraceptive
OD
: organ damage
ONTARGET
: ONgoing Telmisartan Alone and in Combination with Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial
PAD
: peripheral artery disease
PATHS
: Prevention And Treatment of Hypertension Study
PCI
: percutaneous coronary intervention
PPAR
: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor
PREVEND
: Prevention of REnal and Vascular ENdstage Disease
PROFESS
: Prevention Regimen for Effectively Avoiding Secondary Strokes
PROGRESS
: Perindopril Protection Against Recurrent Stroke Study
PWV
: pulse wave velocity
QALY
: Quality adjusted life years
RAA
: renin-angiotensin-aldosterone
RAS
: renin-angiotensin system
RCT
: randomized controlled trials
RF
: risk factor
ROADMAP
: Randomized Olmesartan And Diabetes MicroAlbuminuria Prevention
SBP
: systolic blood pressure
SCAST
: Angiotensin-Receptor Blocker Candesartan for Treatment of Acute STroke
SCOPE
: Study on COgnition and Prognosis in the Elderly
SCORE
: Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation
SHEP
: Systolic Hypertension in the Elderly Program
STOP
: Swedish Trials in Old Patients with Hypertension
STOP-2
: The second Swedish Trial in Old Patients with Hypertension
SYSTCHINA
: SYSTolic Hypertension in the Elderly: Chinese trial
SYSTEUR
: SYSTolic Hypertension in Europe
TIA
: transient ischaemic attack
TOHP
: Trials Of Hypertension Prevention
TRANSCEND
: Telmisartan Randomised AssessmeNt Study in ACE iNtolerant subjects with cardiovascular Disease
UKPDS
: United Kingdom Prospective Diabetes Study
VADT
: Veterans' Affairs Diabetes Trial
VALUE
: Valsartan Antihypertensive Long-term Use Evaluation
WHO
: World Health Organization

### 1.1 Principles

The 2013 guidelines on hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and the European Society of Cardiology …

/pdf/2013-esh-esc-guidelines-for-the-management-of-arterial-4ydvs5ifsx.pdf

2013 ESH/ESC Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension: The Task Force for the management of arterial hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

2016 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure: The Task Force for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC). Developed with the special contribution of the Heart Failure Association (HFA) of the ESC.

A16 – Sexual dimorphism in NaCl sensitivity of blood pressure in the spontaneously hypertensive rat

Because they were intrigued by the results, many colleagues and journalists have made us aware of the paper “Bedtime hypertension treatment improves cardiovascular risk reduction: the Hygia Chronot...

Blood pressure medication should not be routinely dosed at bedtime. We must disregard the data from the HYGIA project.

Although hypertension is usually not associated with physical symptoms, there is survey evidence that many patients, perhaps the majority, see this condition as a cause for worry and a threat to their overall health. It is a reasonable assumption that these concerns are most manifest in patients whose blood pressures (BPs) are not well controlled. As well, there is evidence derived from psychological testing that people with hypertension experience reductions in quality of life that are proportional to their BP elevations. A recent study of attitudes in patients with selfdescribed uncontrolled or treatment-resistant hypertension by Schmieder and colleagues has established that these individuals carry a heavy emotional burden. The authors of this work reported the results of a survey conducted by the professional polling organization, Harris Interactive (New York). The survey questions had been designed in collaboration with a steering committee of hypertension experts (see Acknowledgements Section for details). The work of Harris Interactive and the committee was supported by an unrestricted grant from Medtronic. Overall, 4574 patients from the United States, Brazil, Japan, and several Western European countries with self-reported uncontrolled or treatment-resistant hypertension were surveyed. In response to the question: “How would you describe your current overall health?” more than half of the respondents chose “poor” or “fair” rather than “good” or “excellent.” In addition, they indicated a sense of pessimism about the probability of their BPs ever being controlled. All aspects of health appeared to be compromised by their hypertension, including a fear by many patients for their future well-being. Even personal and family relationships were found to be adversely affected.

Suzanne Oparil

Papers

A16 – Sexual dimorphism in NaCl sensitivity of blood pressure in the spontaneously hypertensive rat

Blood pressure medication should not be routinely dosed at bedtime. We must disregard the data from the HYGIA project.

The Human Side of Failed Hypertension Treatment

Sodium–Proton (Na+/H+) Exchange Inhibition Increases Blood Pressure in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat

Renal denervation in hypertension: is it the end or the beginning of a SPYRAL?