Hypertension in special populations.

This article discusses various aspects of hypertension in selected special populations. The groups discussed herein are children, pregnant women, African Americans, persons with kidney insufficiency, kidney transplant survivors, and persons with diabetes mellitus. These groups present unique epidemiological, diagnostic and therapeutic challenges for the practitioner. The detection of reduced kidney function merits special attention since it attenuates the blood pressure response to antihypertensive therapy, affects therapeutic decision-making, is both a cause and consequence of poorly controlled hypertension, often lurks undetected, and is excessively prevalent in some special populations.