ESH Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension 2023

The European Society of Hypertension (ESH), the leading hypertension society in Europe, released updated and expanded 2023 ESH Guidelines for the Management of Arterial Hypertension during three oral presentations at the 32nd Annual European Meeting on Hypertension and Cardiovascular Protection Meeting in Milan, Italy. The full guidelines will be published in the August issue of the Journal of Hypertension. The new guidelines are designed to serve as an essential resource on the latest scientific evidence for healthcare professionals around the world that treat individuals with hypertension.

Arterial hypertension (elevated blood pressure) is a common and leading preventable cause of heart attack, stroke, kidney failure and death that impacts 1.28 billion adults worldwide. Some risk factors for hypertension include obesity, poor diet, lack of exercise and stress. Arterial hypertension constitutes the most prevalent and important risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality globally despite the availability of effective pharmacological treatments. In addition, approximately half of individuals with hypertension do not meet guideline-directed blood pressure (BP) goals. While medication and lifestyle changes can help decrease hypertension, they alone are sometimes not enough.

“At ESH, we see the impact of this public health crisis first-hand and want to share real-world, evidence-based recommendations to address this silent killer, which is still underdiagnosed and often difficult to treat,” said Giuseppe Mancia, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, University Milano-Bicocca, Italy and Chair of the guidelines.

The comprehensive ESH guidelines were written and approved by a diverse panel of European hypertension specialists for practicing physicians and healthcare professionals with hypertensive patients.