The "i-never-took-pills-before" syndrome and the treatment of hypertension.

A new condition called the "I-never-took-pills-before" syndrome has been developed to describe hypertensive patients who react adversely to a variety of medications with different side-effect profiles. The typical individual who manifests this syndrome readily admits to a dislike of taking medication in general, has rarely taken drugs before a diagnosis of hypertension was made, and tends to develop the same constellation of side-effects in response to completely different classes of drugs. Various features of this syndrome are outlined and suggestions offered to help physicians identify and treat patients with this condition.