Patient discussions

Your Organisational Guidance

ebpracticenet urges you to prioritise the following organisational guidance:

Cardiovasculaire risicobepaling in de eerste lijnPublished by: Domus MedicaLast published: 2020Évaluation du risque cardiovasculaire en première lignePublished by: Domus MedicaLast published: 2010

As with most chronic conditions, hypertension requires a lifelong commitment from both patient and physician to pursue aggressive management with healthy lifestyle choices and medical therapy.[8]​ Patients should be counselled about diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension [DASH] diet, sodium ≤1.5 g/day, in consultation with a nutritionist) and physical activity.[62]

  • Smoking raises blood pressure (BP) acutely and transiently, but long-term studies have not found an association between smoking and the risk of developing chronic hypertension.[242] Nevertheless, smoking cessation should be encouraged to reduce cardiovascular risk.

  • Acute consumption of coffee and black tea has a mild pressor effect; however, long-term studies have found slightly lower BP in patients who consume caffeine daily.[101][243] Therefore, moderate caffeine consumption is acceptable.

  • Patients should be advised to begin and maintain aerobic exercise, with a goal of at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity, dynamic aerobic exercise (walking, jogging, cycling, or swimming) 5 days per week to total 150 minutes as tolerated or recommended by a physician.

  • Medication adherence is important and it should be discussed with patients in whom drug therapy for hypertension is often a lifelong commitment.[244]

  • Regular use of paracetamol has been associated with increased systolic BP in those with hypertension; continued regular use in these patients should be reviewed.[79]

Use of this content is subject to our disclaimer