Hypertension

Managing High Blood Pressure in Washington, DC

The Division of Kidney Disease & Hypertension is pleased to announce the establishment of The Center for Hypertension at The GW Medical Faculty Associates.

The division participates in Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT), Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) Study and number of other clinical and clinical translational studies. The research team in the division is examining the mechanism of salt sensitivity and role of dopamine receptors in mediating high blood pressure.

These are some statistics about hypertension:

• There are 70 million (1 in 3 adult in the US) people with a high blood pressure
• High blood pressure accounts for 1 in 6 deaths annually
• About 1,000 deaths each day in the US are attributed to uncontrolled blood pressure
• Only about half of people with high blood pressure have controlled hypertension
• Blood pressure is an important cause for chronic kidney disease

The division has a long tradition of serving as a tertiary referral clinic for the management of uncontrolled blood pressure. The center offers the following services:

• Initial consultation for diagnostic confirmation of hypertension
• Second opinion for difficult to treat blood pressure
• 24 hour blood pressure monitoring
• Non-invasive pulse wave analysis and central blood pressure monitoring
• Optimization of blood pressure medications through chronotherapy
• Work-up and management of secondary hypertension

Clinical Research

In addition to offering state-of-the art care and therapies for patients with hypertensive diseases, the center offers patients opportunities to participate in novel therapies as part of the ongoing clinical research projects in the division. Funded by the National Institute of Health, the division is examining the mechanism and genetic basis for hypertension, salt sensitivity and vascular damage. We are exploring methods to personalize blood pressure control for patients.

The team of experts in the center for hypertension are trained to identify and treat secondary causes of hypertension such as:

• Renal Artery Stenosis
• Adrenal Adenoma and Hyperplasia
• Pheochromocytoma
• Genetic Hypertension

The center personalizes treatment by:

• Detection of White Coat Hypertension
• Identification of Masked Hypertension
• Offering Chronotherapy

The collaborative center is specifically equipped to:

• Identify high risk individuals for more intensive therapy
• Personalize blood pressure medication and blood pressure targets
• Prevent end-organ damage through collaboration with other specialties