Target organ involvement in hypertension: a realistic promise of prevention and reversal

End points from hypertensive disease, stroke, coronary heart disease, and hypertensive emergencies can be markedly reduced. However, cardiac failure and end-stage renal disease, two exceedingly common end points from long-standing hypertension, remain as major disabilities and causes of death. Present day therapy now can effectively reverse these costly (economically and by human suffering) complications, and recent experimental studies suggest that, when used early enough, these newer pharmacologic agents may even prevent their occurrences and consequences. The very practical lesson from these experiences is that early detection and treatment of hypertension, effective control of arterial pressure, and the suppression of the underlying disease mechanisms markedly reduce the now increasing prevalence of both cardiac and renal failure.