Hypertension Diagnosis

• History should be taken with emphasis on hypertension, diabetes mellitus (DM), dyslipidemia and premature coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke or renal disease
  • Level and duration of elevated blood pressure (BP)
  • Usual range of BP; current/past antihypertensive medications and history of adherence to treatment
  • Symptoms of secondary causes of hypertension (eg sweating, headache and palpitations in pheochromocytoma; muscle weakness and tetany in hyperaldosteronism; hypersomnolence and snoring in obstructive sleep apnea; heat intolerance, weight loss and palpitations in hyperthyroidism; fatigue, edema, and frequent urination in kidney disease or failure)
  • Lifestyle and environmental evaluation (eg dietary intake of fat, salt and alcohol, physical activity, smoking status, weight gain since young adulthood)
  • Medication history of prescribed and over-the-counter medications, use of herbal supplements and illicit drugs
  • History or current symptoms of TOD (eg CHD, cerebrovascular disease, cognitive dysfunction)
    • The association between BP and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Asians is stronger than in Westerners with stroke (eg hemorrhagic stroke) and nonischemic heart failure being the common end results of hypertension-related CVD
  • History or current symptoms of concomitant diseases that will affect prognosis (eg DM, renal disease, gout, UTI, thyroid disease, etc)
  • Family history of high BP, stroke, diabetes, CVD, CHD, renal disease and dyslipidemia
  • Occupational history (eg with frequent travels or long trips, consider time changes, medication schedule, prevention of complications, etc)

• Appropriate BP measurement with verification in contralateral arm
• Calculation of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference - risk for metabolic syndrome or for type 2 DM is high when waist circumference is >102 cm in men, >88 cm in women
• Heart rate (patient at rest) to search for arrhythmias, respiratory rate, temperature 
• Examination of optic fundi
• Auscultation for carotid, abdominal and femoral bruits
• Thorough exam of heart and lungs; palpation of the thyroid gland
• Exam of the abdomen for truncal obesity, enlarged kidneys, masses, distended urinary bladder and abnormal aortic pulsation
• Palpation of lower extremities for edema and pulses, eg ankle-brachial index (ABI)
• Neurological and mental status assessment

Clinical/Office BP Measurement

• BP is measured at least annually in >18 years old but more frequently in those at moderate or high risk of vascular disease
• Patient should be seated comfortably for >5 minutes in a chair, with back supported, feet on the floor and arm supported at heart level prior to measurement of BP
  • Measurement of BP in the standing position is recommended for patients at risk of postural hypotension, patients with diabetes and at the 1st visit of elderly patients
• 2-3 measurements should be taken spaced by 1-2 minutes
  • A difference of >15 mmHg between 2 arms suggest arterial problems and requires further investigation
  • Take BP measurements from sitting, lying, and standing (usually after 1 minute) positions to take note of drops in BP
• Cuff with bladder 12-13 cm wide and 35 cm long should be used and placed at heart level of the patient
  • Wider cuffs (>32 cm circumference) are needed for large arms and smaller cuffs (<26 cm circumference) for thin arms
    • Please also refer to the Recommended Cuff Sizes table under Patient Education
  • Bladder length should encircle at least 80% of the arm while the width should be at least 40% of arm circumference
• Use the appearance of phase I Korotkoff’s sounds for SBP and the disappearance of phase V for DBP

Confirmation of Hypertension

• In general, diagnosis is confirmed by taking the BP 1-4 weeks after the first measurement or the average of readings on ≥2 occasions or visits
• A substantially elevated BP requires a shorter interval between visits, depending on the degree of BP elevation and presence of CVD or TOD

Out-of-Office BP Measurement

• Recommended for the confirmation of hypertension diagnosis 
• Ambulatory BP Monitoring (ABPM)
  • Preferred method; automatically measures patient’s BP at regular intervals over a 24-hour period
  • Advantages: Detects masked/white coat hypertension; determines nocturnal BP patterns; confirms borderline hypertension or abnormal home BP monitoring results; evaluates impact of antihypertensive treatments

• Home BP Monitoring (HBPM)
  • Self-measurement of BP for over 5-7 days, if possible in duplicate measurement
  • May also be used to screen for masked/white coat hypertension
    • May be performed in individuals with high normal BP or office BP 130-139/85-89 mmHg to detect masked hypertension
  • Useful in improving hypertension awareness, improving diagnostic accuracy, determining CV risk in patients with hypertension, evaluating treatment efficacy, improving treatment compliance and adherence, and is the basis for initiating and adjusting BP control treatment in telemedicine
  • Possible error in measurement and no nocturnal BP readings

• In Asians, out-of-office BP management includes focusing initially on the morning BP then nocturnal BP
  • Morning hypertension confers CV risk independent of the 24-hour ambulatory BP
    • It may be controlled with the use of long-acting antihypertensive agents given in appropriate (often full) doses and in proper combinations; consider bedtime dosing if morning BP is not controlled
  • Also, the detection and management of masked and masked uncontrolled hypertension are important parts of hypertension treatment
  
  

  BP LEVELS DEFINING HYPERTENSION
  Category	2017 ACC/AHA*		2018 ESH/ESC**
  	SBP (mmHg) and/or DBP (mmHg)		SBP (mmHg) and/or DBP (mmHg)
  Clinic/Office BP	≥130	≥80	≥140	≥90
  Daytime ABPM	≥130	≥80	≥135	≥85
  Nighttime ABPM	≥110	≥65	≥120	≥70
  24-hour ABPM	≥125	≥75	≥130	≥80
  Home BP	≥130	≥80	≥135	≥85
  Reference: Bakris G, Ali W, Parati G. ACC/AHA versus ESC/ESH on hypertension guidelines: JACC guideline comparison. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019 Jun 18;73(23):3018-3026. *Reference: 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA Guideline for the prevention, detection, evaluation, and management of high blood pressure in adults. This guideline updates prior JNC reports. **Reference: 2018 European Society of Hypertension (ESH)/European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension.

• Classification of BP must be based on the average of ≥2 properly measured, seated BP readings on each of ≥2 office visits
• Various consensus guidelines are available as standard references for the definition of hypertension¹

BP Classification based on  2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA*	SBP (mmHg)     DBP (mmHg)
Normal	<120   and   <80
Elevated	120-129   and   <80
Hypertension Stage 1	130-139   or   80-89
Hypertension Stage 2	≥140   or   ≥90

 

BP Classification based on 2018 ESH/ESC**	SBP (mmHg)      DBP (mmHg)
Optimal	<120   and   <80
Normal	120-129   and/or   80-84
High Normal	130-139   and/or   85-89
Grade 1 hypertension	140-159   and/or   90-99
Grade 2 hypertension	160-179   and/or   100-109
Grade 3 hypertension	≥180   and/or   ≥110
Isolated systolic hypertension (ISH)2	≥140   and   <90

¹Recommendations may vary between countries. Please refer to available guidelines from local health authorities.
*Reference: 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA Guideline for the prevention, detection, evaluation, and management of high blood pressure in adults. This guideline updates prior JNC reports.
**Reference: 2018 European Society of Hypertension (ESH)/European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension.
²Graded 1, 2 or 3 according to the SBP values in the indicated ranges.

Risk Stratification

• All patients should be classified not only in relation to stages of hypertension but also in terms of total cardiovascular (CV) risk resulting from coexistence of different risk factors, organ damage and related diseases
• Decisions on management and subsequent follow-up of hypertension should be based on BP levels along with other CV risk factors and target organ damage (TOD)
• A study revealed that in patients being given aggressive antihypertensive therapy, prolonged QRS duration confers higher risk of sudden cardiac death in this subset of patients
• Systolic blood pressure (SBP) is better in quantifying prognosis than diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in patients >50 years old
  • In younger patients without comorbidities, DBP is a more important CV risk factor
• Pulse pressure is also a good predictor of CV events in elderly patients
• To estimate the 10-year risk of atherosclerotic CVD (ASCVD), the ACC/AHA pooled cohort equations (http://tools.acc.org/ASCVD-Risk-Estimator/) or the Systemic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE) system may be used 
  • ASCVD was defined as 1st CHD death, fatal or non-fatal stroke, or non-fatal MI 

• If patient is found to have chronic elevated BP, then they should undergo further assessment to determine secondary causes, TOD, CVD risk factors or concomitant disorders that will affect prognosis

Presence of Secondary Cause or Evidence of Target Organ Damage

• Consider to screen for secondary hypertension in the following: Abrupt development of hypertension, onset of hypertension in patients <40 years old, onset of diastolic hypertension in patients ≥65 years old, hypertension that is either drug-resistant or accelerated/malignant, exacerbation of a previously controlled hypertension, TOD that is out of proportion to the degree of hypertension, excessive or unprovoked hypokalemia 
• Patient should be referred to a specialist and treated appropriately if a secondary cause of hypertension is found
• Further tests should be done if TOD is found in order to evaluate the level of severity

Identifiable Secondary Causes of Hypertension

• Chronic kidney disease (CKD)
• Chronic steroid therapy and Cushing syndrome
• Coarctation of the aorta
• Alcohol- or drug-induced
  • Prescription, over-the-counter medications, herbal supplement, use of illicit drugs, etc
• Takayasu arteritis
• Obesity
• Pheochromocytoma
• Primary aldosteronism
• Renovascular disease
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Thyroid and parathyroid disorders
• Congenital adrenal hyperplasia

CVD Risk Factors

• Increased age
• Male sex
• Smoking
• Unhealthy diet/physical inactivity
• Low educational or socioeconomic status
• Psychosocial stress
• Diabetes mellitus (DM)
• Overweight or obesity
• Dyslipidemia
• Hyperuricemia
• Metabolic syndrome
• Obstructive sleep apnea
• CKD
• Family history of premature CV disease (<55 years for male relative or <65 years for female relative)
• Abdominal obesity (waist circumference [Asian]: Men ≥90 cm; women ≥80 cm)
• Early-onset menopause

Target Organ Damage (TOD)

• Heart: Left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, angina/prior MI, prior coronary revascularization, heart failure
• Brain: Stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), dementia
• Kidney: CKD
• Vascular: Peripheral arterial disease
• Eyes: Retinopathy

• Diagnostic tests should be done to exclude secondary causes of hypertension, screen for comorbidities, provide evidence for additional risk factors and note the occurrence of TOD
  • CBC, urinalysis, renal function tests, fasting blood sugar and/or HbA1c, lipid profile (after 9- to 12-hour fast), serum creatinine, serum K and Na, serum uric acid, liver function tests, thyroid stimulating hormone, 12-lead ECG, echocardiography