Review on Current Trends in the Management of Hypertension

Cardiovascular diseases have been cited as the leading causes of death in the industrialized world. This trend is slowly shifting to the low and middle income countries.  In Kenya, for instance, the prevalence of hypertension among adults is almost reaching 50 %. This disease is asymptomatic and most of the patients are diagnosed during routine checkups at clinics. Even though the Ministry of Health has developed guidelines on the management of hypertension, local studies have revealed that most of the patients are inadequately managed. A number of challenges to the management have been identified. For instance, patient assessment as to who should or should not receive therapy, drug selection and the management of complications. This article reviews the current trends in the management of hypertension, with an emphasis on the diagnoses, assessment of the patient and drug selection.

Key Words: Hypertension, Management, Assessment, Drug selection

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