Key result
Mechanism-based approach proposes replacing the essential hypertension label to reflect evolving physiological pathways.
Why the study?
The unsatisfactory 'essential' label for hypertension from unknown cause is losing value as understanding of blood pressure control mechanisms evolves, motivating a more rational mechanistic-based definition of hypertension.
The paper argues for a mechanism-based definition of hypertension, moving away from the 'essential' label as understanding of pathophysiology evolves.
Several major overarching themes have recently emerged in our understanding of the pathophysiology of hypertension which may allow to revisit essential hypertension with an eye towards the possibility of adopting a more rational "mechanistic-based" definition of hypertension and moving away from the unsatisfactory "essential" label for hypertension from unknown cause. As our understanding of the biochemical and physiological mechanisms that control blood pressure rapidly evolves, the "essential" label of hypertension is losing both value as well as utility as it will describe an increasingly small number of hypertensive patients. This paper uses some recently identified pathways central to hypertension and uses this understanding of pathophysiology to argue for a better definition of hypertension.
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Lorenzo A. Calò (2009) conducted a review in Hypertension. A mechanism-based approach to defining hypertension is proposed to replace the 'essential' label as our understanding of biochemical and physiological pathways evolves.
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