The eighth edition of Clinical Management of Hypertension continues to update hypertension treatment recommendations with additions and interpretations of new data from treatment trials and guideline committees. The management guidelines of the Seventh Joint National Committee (JNC) on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure are again reviewed and critiqued in view of new data since these were originally published in 2003. The validity of advising a thiazide diuretic as initial therapy is put in perspective. The 2007 European Society of Hypertension and Society of Cardiology guidelines and new treatment algorithms are also reviewed and evaluated. Recently introduced antihypertensive agents, such as a renin inhibitor and a beta blocker with nitric oxide-enhancing properties, as well as newer combination therapies, are discussed.
Above all, this updated edition of Clinical Management of Hypertension sends a clear message that more individuals with hypertension, especially in the older age groups, should be treated; effective and safe treatment is available; and achieving levels of BP as close to normal as possible-120-130/80 mm Hg-will reduce morbidity and mortality to an even greater degree than has occurred to date.
Marvin Moser, MD is Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine and was the senior medical advisor to the National High Blood Pressure Education Program of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) from 1974 to 2002. He was Chairman of the first Joint National Committee (JNC) on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure in 1977, Vice-Chairman of the committee in 1980, and has participated in each of the other five JNCs. Dr. Moser is Editor in Chief of the Journal of Clinical Hypertension and the author of more than 500 scientific papers, 32 book chapters, and 11 books. These include Myths, Misconceptions and Heroics, the Story of the Treatment of Hypertension, published in 1997 and 2002, and Clinical Management of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Diabetes (2002, 2007) (with James Sowers, MD)
He has received numerous awards, including awards from the NHLBI in 1985 and 1997, an International Society of Hypertension Award in 2004, and an American Society of Hypertension Award in 2006, for his contributions in the field of hypertension research and treatment.