Diagnosing hypertension

© 2019 Les Laboratoires Seriver. All rights reserved. As the most common long-term condition in most developed health-care systems and a major risk factor for premature death and major cardiovascular disease events, hypertension remains one of the world's most important risk factors for preventable disease. Its early and accurate diagnosis is therefore important. Recent guideline updates have reinforced the importance of repeated blood pressure readings to accurately diagnose hypertension, upgrading recommendations that ambulatory or repeated home-based blood pressure assessments are more reliable in diagnosing hypertension (and correlate better with clinical outcomes). European guidelines have maintained the diagnostic threshold for Stage 1 hypertension at levels above 140 systolic and 100 diastolic, but this differs from US guidelines that consider this threshold as Stage 2 hypertension. There is no reliable evidence, however, that patients would benefit from current therapies with these lower US thresholds.