The 1993 Guidelines for the Management of Mild Hypertension: Memorandum from a WHO/ISH Meeting

Abstract

The present guidelines were prepared by the Guidelines SubCommittee a of the WHO/ISH (International Society of Hypertension) Mild Hypertension Liaison Committee. They represent the third revision of the WHO/ISH guidelines and were finalized after discussions at the Sixth WHO/ISH Meeting on Mild Hypertension in Chantilly, France, on 28-31 March 1993. The new guidelines discuss the cardiovascular risk in patients with hypertension, the definition and classification of mild hypertension, drug treatment (including the elderly) and non-drug measures, cost-effectiveness, and further research.

Integrated effects of the vasodilating beta-blocker nebivolol on exercise performance, energy metabolism, cardiovascular and neurohormonal parameters in physically active patients with arterial hypertension

“…5,6 Particularly in the treatment of essential hypertension, physical exercise has become established as an effective therapeutic approach. [7][8][9][10] Positive effects of controlled exercise programmes in hypertensive subjects have been reported to include a reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, [11][12][13] improvements of blood lipid profile and insulin sensitivity of the working skeletal muscle, [14][15][16][17] restoration of endothelial function, 18 a shift of the autonomic balance towards parasympathetic tone 19 and an improvement in quality of life. 20 However, if non-pharmacological measures alone fail to lower blood pressure to a normal level according to WHO/ISH guidelines, 21 additional antihypertensive drug treatment is necessary.…”

The results of the Campaign for evaluating sphygmomanometers accuracy and their physical conditions

“…Therefore the accuracy of the values obtained is essential, since errors may deprive hypertensive patients of the benefits of hypertension treatment and expose normotensive patients to unnecessary treatment [1][2][3][4][5] .…”

“…Surprisingly, several guides concerned with blood pressure measurement have been published, aiming at unifying the procedure and warn health-care practitioners about potential errors that can jeopardize the results obtained. Yet these books fail to stress the importance of checking regularly the calibration of the equipment used [1][2][3][4][5] . In the medical area, the National Institute of Metrology has established guidelines for equipments used to measure blood pressure so that only equipment with the seal of this organization should be authorized for use.…”

Clinical Significance and Cost-Effectiveness of 24-hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring.

“…Home BP measurements and ambulatory BP monitoring are only supplementary. This was emphasized by the 5th Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (1993) and the WHO/ISH Guidelines (Zanchetti et al 1993). The National High Blood Pressure Education Program (1990) recently recommended the use of ambulatory BP monitoring in a variety of clinical settings.…”