Secondary Hypertension: Novel Insights

It is estimated that 5-10% of hypertensive patients have secondary hypertension. The main causes of secondary hypertension are parenchymal renal disease, primary aldosteronism and renovascular hypertension. The identification of these patients is important because it enables the etiological management of the underlying disease and in some cases leads to blood pressure control without antihypertensive medications. On the other hand, diagnostic evaluation for secondary hypertension often includes complex and expensive tests and should be performed only in patients with a strong clinical suspicion for its presence. If preliminary screening tests suggest the presence of secondary hypertension, these patients should be referred to specialized centers for further diagnostic evaluation and comprehensive management.