According to the ESH-ESC guidelines, hypertension is defined by the finding of systolic (maximum) blood pressure values ≥ 140 mmHg and/or diastolic (minimum) blood pressure values ≤ 90 mmHg.
The same classification is used to define hypertension in adults and the elderly of both sexes, while different criteria, based on percentiles, are adopted in children and adolescents.
Hypertension currently affects more than 1 billion people worldwide, and according to the World Health Organization (WHO) about 1.6 billion people will suffer from hypertension in 2025.
One-quarter of hypertensives do not respond adequately to conventional drug treatment (probably also due to intermittent intake), and more than 10% have treatment resistance.
Hypertension is one of the most significant cardiovascular risk factors (to the point that every 20 mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure doubles the risk of death from cardiovascular causes), but it is also one of the most easily modifiable through lifestyle correction (healthy diet, reduced salt intake, increased physical activity and smoking cessation) and well-set drug therapy taken regularly, every day, throughout life.
