Definition and Goals of Hypertension Management
📌 Hypertension is defined as a blood pressure of $\mathbf{140/90}$ millimeters mercury or greater.
🎯 The primary goal of treatment is to decrease the risk of mortality and cardiovascular and renal morbidity.
💔 Symptoms can include headache, dyspnea (shortness of breath), and potential signs of end-organ damage.

Physiology and Risk Factors
❤️ Blood pressure is calculated as the product of cardiac output and the total peripheral vascular resistance.
📊 Key risk factors include obesity, high sodium intake, diabetes, sleep apnea, high alcohol intake, dyslipidemia, older age, and family history.
🧪 Secondary hypertension can result from conditions like pheochromocytoma, hyperaldosteronism, Cushing syndrome, or renal artery stenosis.

Vascular Changes and Complications
🔬 Untreated hypertension leads to slow, progressive vascular remodeling and hypertrophy, causing plaque buildup and vessel wall thickening.
🩸 These vascular changes narrow the lumen, increasing pressure, which ultimately results in end-organ damage (e.g., stroke, retinopathy, renal failure).
📈 Investigations should include ECG for cardiac function, urinalysis for renal function, and serology tests like plasma renin and aldosterone.

Management Strategies
🏃‍♂️ Non-pharmacological management includes exercise, reducing salt intake, maintaining a proper diet, limiting alcohol, and smoking cessation.
💊 Pharmacological management involves the use of antihypertensives, such as ACE inhibitors.

Key Points & Insights
➡️ Blood pressure is fundamentally determined by the interaction between cardiac output and total peripheral resistance.
➡️ Early lifestyle modifications, including salt reduction and exercise, are crucial initial steps in hypertension management.
➡️ Recognizing secondary causes (like hyperthyroidism or obstructive uropathy) is important as some are potentially reversible.

📸 Video summarized with SummaryTube.com on Oct 12, 2025, 22:05 UTC