HYPERTENSION IN SPECIAL POPULATIONS

Essential hypertension is a common disorder, and a variety of antihype rtensive drugs are available to lower blood pressure in the normal ran ge; Identifying special subpopulations by differences in age, gender, race, and body weight has taught clinicians to be more selective in an tihypertensive therapy. The rationale for this selectivity is often sp eculative and has not been corroborated by any hard data. It is hoped that some of the prospective, randomized trials currently in progress will throw some light on this question.