Hypertension affects more than 50 million people in the United States and approximately 1 billion people across the world. While lifestyle modifications (diet, exercise, weight loss) and pharmacotherapy have been proven to be effective in the treatment of hypertension, as many as one-half of patients have uncontrolled BP and remain at risk for elevated cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.

In patients who are unable to achieve the guideline recommended goals for BP control, a label of “resistant hypertension” has been applied. Resistant hypertension is commonly defined as lack of BP control despite the use of 3 antihypertensive medications at optimal dosages, or alternatively as controlled blood pressure requiring 4 or more medications. The importance of this definition is reflected in the heightened risk of cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, heart failure, peripheral artery disease, and chronic kidney disease in these patients.

The central focus of this educational program will be the appropriate identification of HTN patients including the use of HTN clinic intake forms and clinic documentation templates, use of decision support tools for pharmacologic treatment and secondary screening.  The overall goal will be a robust educational experience about resistant HTN and its therapeutic options.