ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION The 2007 guidelines on the management of hypertension and cardiovascular prevention never mentioned the word “stress.” Should we thus consider that stress is not involved in the pathophysiology of hypertension, and thus should not be taken into account in the management of the hypertensive patient? Of interest are also the numerous studies that relate psychosocial factors to increased cardiovascular risk. How firm is this evidence and should this be taken into account when we take care of our patient with hypertension? Last, in a world where the human population grows at a speed never seen before, there appear new cardiovascular factors, such as airborne pollution, which may pose new challenges to the patient with hypertension. These items may still not be discussed in the new 2013 guidelines on the management of hypertension and cardiovascular prevention but could prove useful for the reader interested in stress and psychosocial and environmental cardiovascular risk factors.
