CARDIOVASCULAR RISK IN HYPERTENSION

Objective: Hypertension, often accompanied by other comorbidities, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular events (CVE). Despite advances in diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, its asymptomatic nature often leads to delayed detection, low awareness and inadequate management. The objective is to compare personal history, BP, organ damage, treatment, and follow-up in patients with and without CVE over a 10-year follow-up period, providing insights into risk factors and management strategies that influence long-term cardiovascular outcomes. Design and method: Observational and retrospective study including 78 hypertensive patients from a tertiary hospital between 2013 and 2023. Data were extracted from medical records and analysed using chi-square, Fisher’s exact tests, and t-tests with SPSS Statistics version 27. Results were reported as frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. Results: Table 1 summarizes the cohort’s characteristics. Epidemiological analysis revealed no significant differences between sex, age, BMI, abdominal circumference, or toxic habits. Among 35 patients with CVE, 26 were initially classified as high risk based on SCORE-2, while 9 were not. Patients with CVE had a higher prevalence of T2DM, elevated glycemia and creatinine levels. Dyslipidemia was prevalent, with 23 new cases diagnosed early during follow-up. No significant differences were observed in initial office BP control. However, CVE group had higher SBP on ABPM, particularly during nighttime period. 94.3% of patients with CVE were already on treatment compared to 79% of those without CVE, and they were more likely to require second-line treatments. Over 10 years, the CVE group required more medications and exhibited higher SBP values, though emergency care and hospitalization rates were comparable across groups. Table 2 shows the differences in hypertensive-mediated organ damage (HMOD) between patients initially without CVE who later developed a major event and those who remained event-free. The analysis identified more carotid plaques, left ventricular hypertrophy, and elevated albumin-to-creatinine ratios in patients who developed CVE.Conclusions: These findings highlight the importance of metabolic, renal and HMOD markers, as well as intensive BP treatment strategies and early identification and management of dyslipidemia and other modifiable risk factors to improve long-term outcomes.