Topic overview

Start with the big picture

The lesson begins with diagnostic criteria and blood pressure categories, emphasizing confirmation with repeated measurements and proper technique. It distinguishes primary hypertension from secondary causes and summarizes major complications of untreated disease and treatment goals. Management includes lifestyle approaches such as dietary changes, weight loss, exercise, limiting alcohol, and stopping smoking, alongside medication selection. The overview introduces first-line classes—thiazide diuretics, ACE inhibitors, ARBs, and calcium channel blockers—and places other agents in context, including beta-blockers and drugs used in resistant hypertension or pregnancy. It also previews combination therapy, class-specific adverse effects and monitoring, and the distinction between hypertensive urgency and emergency.