Management of hypertension in adults in primary care: NICE guideline

摘要

Hypertension is common and is one of the Leading causes of cardiovascular events such as stroke and ischaemic heart disease. It is responsible for approximately 12% of consultations in primary care. This is a summary of the key points in the 2011 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) hypertension guideline.1 This is an update of NICE clinical guideline 18, which was first published in 2004 and was partially updated in 2006 (clinical guideline 34). The 2006 and 2011 updates were developed in collaboration with the British Hypertension Society (BHS). The areas included for updating were selected because of new evidence that might change existing recommendations.