The heterogeneity of hypertension: why doesn't every patient respond to every antihypertensive drug?
Sever, P.
Journal of Human Hypertension 9(Suppl 2): S33-S36
1995
ISSN/ISBN: 0950-9240 PMID: 7562897 Document Number: 447349
Hypertension is a multifactorial disease, and there is growing evidence that implicates a range of environmental factors in its aetiology. These include dietary sodium, obesity, alcohol and stress. Additionally, several genetic abnormalities may predispose an individual to hypertension. The number of hypertensive phenotypes resulting from different environmental-genetic interactions may explain, therefore, why there is marked heterogeneity in response to treatment and why any single antihypertensive agent would be unlikely to control BP in more than 25-50% of patients. This is one rationale for combination therapies in which the component drugs affect different pathophysiological mechanisms.