1 Prehypertension: Definition, clinical significance and therapeutic approaches: to treat or not to treat -- 2 Clinical significance and treatment requirement in white coat and masked hypertension -- 3 Resistant hypertension: epidemiologic and evolving therapeutic aspects -- 4 Primary aldosteronism: rare or common condition -- 5 Hypertension in the very elderly: special features, therapeutic approaches and problems -- 6 Clinical relevance of circadian rhythm and nocturnal dip -- 7 Morning BP surge in treated and untreated hypertensive patients: clinical relevance, prognostic significance and therapeutic approaches -- 8 Short-term and long-term BP variability -- 9 Home BP in hypertension -- 10 Obstructive sleep apnea -- 11 Hypertension, obesity and the metabolic syndrome -- 12 Salt, hypertension and cardiovascular disease -- 13 Optic fundus and retinal circulation: new technology for an old examination -- 14 Arterial stiffness as an early marker of organ damage -- 15 Central blood pressure: definition, clinical significance and therapeutic approaches -- 16 Assessment of total cardiovascular risk in Hypertension: the role of subclinical organ damage -- 17 Microcirculation in hypertension -- 18 Smoking, nicotine and BP -- 19 Inflammatory markers and other risk factors in Hypertension -- 20 Benefits: pleiotropic versus BP dependent mechanisms -- 21 Threshold and target BP values for treatment: an evolving concept -- 22 Polypill concept -- 23 J-curve phenomenon: Does it exist? -- 24 Residual risk in treated hypertension -- 25 Poor BP control in the hypertensive population: which factors are involved -- 26 Ramadan fasting and BP control -- 27 Hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal hypertensive women -- 28 Treating pain and inflammation in hypertension -- 29 Sexual function in untreated and treated hypertension -- 30 Cognitive function and dementia in hypertension. Epidemiologic and therapeutic aspects -- 31 Is hypertension preventable? -- 32 Atrial fibrillation. Modern epidemiologic and therapeutic aspects -- 33 Genetics and hypertension. Which information for clinical practice -- 34 Dual blockade of RAAS: benefits versus adverse Outcome -- 35 Long-term effects of RAAS blockade on renal function.

This volume is a cutting-edge review of the latest findings on key scientific and clinical issues in hypertension, with an integration of different new specific topics into the general knowledge of how to understand the pathophysiology and correctly diagnose and treat this chronic condition, which still represents the first cause of death in the world. Among the topics included in the book the reader will find some forms of hypertension which are frequently encountered in clinical practice and on which new important evidence is available, such as high-normal blood pressure (also termed pre-hypertension), white-coat and masked hypertension, and high blood pressure in the elderly and the very elderly. These emerging aspects are discussed in detail, along with chapters on issues of great current interest, such as the way to assess and how to treat asymptomatic organ damage, emerging cardiovascular risk factors such as short and long-term blood pressure variability, cognitive impairment and dementia. The book also deals with the changing concepts in the management of hypertension and antihypertensive pharmacotherapy, and addresses specific topics which are rarely discussed in clinical medicine volumes, including hypertension in post-menopausal women, hormonal replacement therapy, inflammatory disorders, sexual dysfunction with treatment, and the effect of Ramadan fasting on blood pressure. This ready to hand but encompassing volume proves to be a comprehensive updating tool to professionals and clinical practitioners managing patients with hypertension.