[The practice guideline 'Hypertension' (third revision) from the Dutch College of General Practitioners; a response from the perspective of general practice]

Abstract

In the revised practice guideline on hypertension from the Dutch College of General Practitioners, some changes have been made in the areas of diagnosis and therapy in comparison to the previous edition. Finding people with hypertension is a major goal for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. A systolic blood pressure > 140 mmHg (> 160 mmHg in patients > 60 years) necessitates non-pharmaceutical advice and antihypertensive therapy with diuretics, beta-blockers, angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or calcium antagonists, either as monotherapy or in combination. In view of the ever-increasing importance of ACE inhibitors in antihypertensive therapy, we expect that the next revision of the practice guideline will soon be necessary.