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Resistant hypertension—complex mix of secondary causes and comorbidities

Journal of Human Hypertension volume 28, pages 1–2 (2014)Cite this article

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Resistant hypertension (RHTN) is an increasingly common clinical problem1, 2 that studies have suggested is almost always heterogeneous in terms of etiology, risk factors and comorbidities. There has been a growing interest in defining epidemiology and pathophysiology in hope of identifying treatment targets.

Cross-sectional assessments of subjects with RHTN compared with subjects without RHTN have consistently found the former to have an increased frequency of cardiovascular complications, including prior myocardial infarction, stroke, congestive heart failure and chronic kidney disease (CKD).3, 4 A recent 5-year longitudinal assessment of cardiovascular outcomes in a large cohort of subjects with rigorously defined RHTN demonstrated a 50% increase in cardiovascular events in RHTN subjects compared with patients whose blood pressure (BP) had been controlled on ⩽3 medications.5 The study further documented that compared with all subjects being newly treated for hypertension (HTN), the risk of cardiovascular events in patients diagnosed with RHTN was increased by twofold.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the following grants: RO1-HL79040 and CCTS 5UL1 RR025777.

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  1. Division of Cardiovascular Disease, Department of Medicine, Hypertension and Vascular Biology Program, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    T Dudenbostel

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Correspondence to T Dudenbostel.

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Dudenbostel, T. Resistant hypertension—complex mix of secondary causes and comorbidities. J Hum Hypertens 28, 1–2 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2013.46

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