Onlangs gepubliceerde Europese en Amerikaanse richtlijnen voor hypertensiediagnostiek en -behandeling

- The European Society of Hypertension in conjunction with the European Society of Cardiology has published new guidelines on the management of hypertension. At about the same time, the Joint National Committee in the United States updated the American hypertension guidelines. Both guidelines agree on a number of issues, such as the importance of systolic blood pressure, the necessity to take into account additional risk factors and the growing emphasis on combination treatment. As far as pharmacotherapy is concerned, however, there are major differences between the guidelines. Whereas the European report permits a choice from among several classes of drugs for initial treatment, the American guidelines still consider diuretics to be the first choice.