ABSTRACT
Hypertension is very common within the population. The Framingham study highlighted a significant six-fold increased risk of stroke, a three-fold increase of cardiovascular death and a two-fold increase of peripheral vascular disease.1 Hypertensive patients also have a six times greater risk of developing heart failure.2 The Global Burden of Disease Study found that hypertension was the third most preventable cause of death worldwide, and the second most common in westernized societies.3 Many studies have demonstrated that treatment of hypertension reduces morbidity as well as mortality. Hypertension is therefore a major cardiovascular risk factor amenable to prevention and intervention.
