New insights and approaches to reduce end-organ damage in the treatment of hypertension: subsets of hypertension approach.

Antihypertensive therapy should be directed toward reduction of all end-organ damage including congestive heart failure, left ventricular hypertrophy, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, cerebrovascular accident, and chronic renal failure. The Subsets of hypertension approach is based on pathophysiology, hemodynamics, risk factor reduction for end-organ damage, concomitant diseases and problems, demographics, adverse effects on quality of life, compliance, and total health care costs. This approach provides a more individualized and logical treatment of the hypertensive syndrome and addresses the metabolic and structural abnormalities that are present.