8. Hypertension Flashcards
Before taking a patients blood pressure, what should you make sure?
- They don’t have an AV fistula or any arm that they have been told not to use
- In the last 15 minutes, they have not drunk alcohol, smoked or had a caffeinated drink
What are the types of hypertension? Which is most common?
Primary hypertension / essential hypertension is when it has developed on its own without a known cause. It accounts for 95% of hypertension.
Secondary hypertension is when hypertension has developed because of a known cause (ie. secondary to a condition)
What are the main causes of secondary hypertension?
Remember it using ROPE
R- Renal Disease (ie. renal artery stenosis)
O - Obesity
P - Pregnancy-Induced hypertension / pre-eclampsia
E - Endocrine (most endocrine conditions cause hypertension, but especially consider hyperaldosteronism)
When should you perform specialist investigations on someone with hypertension?
- If they are under 40 years of age
- If they have a potential secondary cause
What are some risk factors for essential hypertension?
STRONG
- Obesity
- Aerobic exercise <3 times/week
- Moderate/high alcohol intake
- Metabolic syndrome
- Diabetes mellitus
- Black ancestry
- Age >60 years
- Family history of hypertension or coronary artery disease
- Sleep apnoea
WEAK
- Sodium intake >1.5 g/day
- Low fruit and vegetable intake
- Dyslipidemia
What is Dyslipidemia?
An abnormal amount of lipids (ie. triglycerides, cholesterol and/or fat phospholipids) in the blood
Which arm should you measure blood pressure on?
Ideally you should measure on both arms
What happens if there is a difference in blood pressure between arms?
If the difference is below 15 mmHg, take an average.
If its more than 15mmHg, repeat the measurements. If it remains, then use the arm with the higher reading
When can automated blood pressure devices become unreliable? How do you predict this?
When the patient has pulse irregularity (for ex. due to atrial fibrilation) then it can be unreliable.
Before putting the automated device on, palpate the radial or brachial pulse to assess for regularity.
How should you measure blood pressure in someone with symptoms of postural hypertension?
- Measure blood pressure whilst sat down
- Get them to stand up for atleast a minute
- Measure blood pressure whilst they are stood up
- If systolic BP falls by more than 20mmHg, measure subsequent BP whilst they are standing
How do you record a ‘clinic BP’?
- Record BP
- If BP is greater than 140/90, take a second recording
- If second reading is substantially different, then do a 3rd measurement
- Record the lower of the last 2 measurements as the clinically blood pressure
What do you do next if you diagnose someone with a clinical blood pressure of 141/90
As this is between 140/90 and 180/120, offer ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) to confirm the diagnosis of hypertension. if ABPM is unsuitable, then offer home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM)
How is ambulatory blood pressure monitoring set up so that it can diagnose hypertension?
It records the patients blood pressure atleast twice per hour during the patients usual waking hours (eg. from 8am to 10pm). The average value of all these results is used to diagnose hypertension
How is home blood pressure monitoring set up so that it can diagnose hypertension?
- For each BP reading, it is recorded twice, atleast 1 min apart. if the results are significantly different, do a 3rd measurement.
- Record it in the morning (6am-12pm) and afternoon (6pm-12am) each day
- This should be repeated for atleast 4 days, but ideally 7
- ignoring the first days results, average the rest of them to find an average blood pressure value
What should you do whilst you wait for either ABPM or HBPM to confirm a diagnosis of hypertension?
Carry out investigations for target organ failure
What investigations can you do to check for target organ damage?
- U&E
- GFR
- HbA1C
- Lipid Profile
- Urine albumin:creatinine ratio
- ECG
- Form a Qrisk3 score
If someone has a blood pressure of greater than 180/120, what factor decides how to manage this patient?
Whether or not there are signs and symptoms of end-organ failure
When should you send someone with hypertension for a same-day specialist assessment?
When they have a Bp over 180/120 and 1 or 2 of;
- Signs of retinal haemorrhage and papilloedema
- Life-threatening symptoms, such as new onset confusion, chest pain, signs of heart failure, or acute kidney injury.
How should you manage a patient with a BP of greater than 180/120, but whose not reporting any symptoms or signs?
- Carry out investigations for target organ damage as soon as possible
- If target organ damage is found, consider starting them on anti-hypertensives immediately without waiting for the results of ABPM or HBPM
How should you manage a patient with a BP of greater than 180/120, but whose not got any signs of target organ failure?
Repeat blood pressure measurement within 7 days
What is required to diagnose hypertension?
Clinic blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher PLUS ABPM / HBPM average of 135/85 or higher