COMPARISON ABOUT SPECIAL SITUATIONS BETWEEN 2021 NATIONAL HYPERTENSION GUIDELINES AND 2023 EUROPEAN SOCIETY OF HYPERTENSION GUIDELINES

Objective: To compare the special situations addressed in two guidelines for the management of hypertension: the European Society of Hypertension (ESH, 2023) and our national Society of Family and Community Medicine (2021). Design and method: Sixteen members of the hypertension section of our national society of family doctors reviewed both guidelines. Afterwards, in different meetings, updates to were discussed. Here we present some of the major differences in special situations. Results: Both guidelines provide comprehensive recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension but may differ in their approach to specific populations and clinical scenarios. The ESH guidelines emphasize the importance of individualized treatment strategies, especially in vulnerable groups such as the elderly, patients with comorbidities, and those with resistant hypertension. On the other hand, 2021 national guidelines focus on integrating hypertension management in primary care settings, highlighting the role of lifestyle modifications and patient education. It is worth highlighting the presence of the management of hypertension in special situations common in primary care, a section much less developed in the European guidelines where the information is often fragmented between the different sections and where there is no information on certain exceptionalities such as the patient with HIV, urinary incontinence or mental health, among others that are present in our national guidelines. Transsexuality is only present in the European guidelines. Conclusions: Both guidelines offer an opportunity to think about a new model of healthcare where the patient is empowered to monitor and manage their BP aid using new technologies. Comparing both publications, we believe that the European guidelines provide further knowledge to our national guidelines, but those add some extra tools and detailed sections for handling Hypertension in a variety of primary care settings applicable to our national context.