The Hypertension pocketbook, edited by Nadar and Lip, is a new pocket edition by Oxford University Press. It is comprised of four parts with 26 chapters, characterized by a concise but comprehensive presentation of the significance and risks of arterial hypertension. Nearly half of the book is dedicated to the epidemiology and pathogenesis of primary and secondary hypertension, as well as diagnostics and complications associated with the disease. The rest of the book describes the methods of treating arterial hypertension in detail, as well as the specifics of various patient groups.
At the very start of the book, the authors remind us that arterial hypertension is the leading chronic noncommunicable disease with a high prevalence and simultaneously the leading cause of death throughout the world. These facts are followed by an interesting presentation of the influence of life styles on arterial pressure. The concluding chapters of the first quarter of the book deal with comprehensive diagnostic management of patients with arterial hypertension, with an emphasis on appropriate risk assessment and stratification for each individual patient.
The second quarter of the book reminds readers that arterial hypertension is the main independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and that we should always check for complications in everyday clinical practice. These chapters open with a detailed presentation of arterial hypertension as a cardiovascular risk factor, followed by a list of the most significant types of damage to target organs (hypertensive retinopathy, cognitive damage/dementia, hypertensive renal disease). The authors also provide a comprehensive description of the most significant long-term complications of arterial hypertension – left ventricular hypertrophy and atrial fibrillation.
The second half of the book discusses non-pharmacological, pharmacological, and invasive treatment of arterial hypertension. After a description of the importance of lifestyle changes, different groups of antihypertensives are discussed in detail – diuretics, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers, and other groups of antihypertensives. This is followed by a description of a novel invasive treatment method – renal denervation, and a chapter on the application of antithrombotic therapy in patients with arterial hypertension.
The final part of the book defines cardiovascular risk and describes the overall importance of risk factor management. The treatment algorithms of the British Hypertension Society (BHS-IV) and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) are described, and target arterial pressure values and initial antihypertensive treatment choices are compared with European (European Society of Hypertension / European Society of Cardiology; ESH/ESC) and US (Eighth Joint National Committee; JNC-8) guidelines for arterial hypertension. This is followed by chapters on treatment of arterial hypertension in diabetics, the elderly, and in pregnant women, as well as the management of patients with malignant and resistant hypertension.
In conclusion, this pocket edition is a new reminder that arterial hypertension is a chronic and often asymptomatic disease and that reducing cardiovascular risk is of primary importance in its treatment.