2013 ESH/ESC guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension: what has changed in daily clinical practice?

Abstract

This is a review article aiming to make focus on the changes made in the European Society of Hypertension (ESH)/European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension with some criticism for each element discussed in the text. Given that in the real world clinical practice physicians would hardly spend the time needed for studying the 77 pages manuscript of the recently released 2013 ESH/ESC hypertension guidelines, the present review summarizes all the significant updates (along with their clinical implications) compared to the 2007 ESH/ESC hypertension guidelines and the 2009 reappraisal document.