Hypertension: a cardiovascular risk factor

Abstract Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, with cardiovascular disease being the leading cause of hypertension-related mortality. Systolic blood pressure is superior to diastolic blood pressure when predicting cardiovascular risk. Despite this, diastolic blood pressure still plays a significant role in calculating risk, particularly of ischaemic heart disease in older populations and stroke in younger populations. Hypertension frequently occurs in the presence of other cardiovascular risk factors, including dyslipidaemias, hyperglycaemia, and raised body mass index. Scoring tools, such as QRISK3 and SCORE, can be used to calculate cardiovascular risk in the context of a patient’s age, lifestyle, and comorbidities. Reducing elevated blood pressure can lead to a reduction in cardiovascular risk, with recent studies advocating for a target systolic blood pressure of less than 130 mmHg.