[The diagnosis of hypertension is important, as high blood pressure is the most frequent and consequently the most important risk factor of cardiovascular diseases leading to mortality. The basis of diagnosis is the correct blood pressure measurement. Recent guidelines underline the importance of out of office (home and ambulatory) blood pressure monitoring besides the traditional office measurements. These methods have not only additive prognostic value, but with the help of these measurements, special hypertension forms (white coat and masked hypertension) can be diagnosed. On top of all these, home monitoring in­creases the patient’s compliance to the therapy. This short review summarizes the most important information on blood pressure measurement.]

[In this paper I summarise the currently valid guidelines for the pharmacotherapy of hypertensive patients, and in separate part, those for hypertensive urgencies and emergencies.]

[Childhood hypertension was previously regarded as a rare disease, caused primarily by renal or renovascular diseases. How­ever, in the past 10-15 years due to increased prevalence of childhood obesity and the associated metabolic abnormali­ties, elevated blood pressure has become significantly more common. This highlights the public health significance of high blood pressure, and it also determines the scree­n­ing protocols, which varies by age groups. The child's development should be taken into account when establishing normal blood pressure in childhood. In addition to the definition of hypertension, the characteristics of blood pressure measurements must also be known. Before adolescence, hypertension is most likely caused by an organic cause. During puberty and postpuberty, hypertension is primarily associated with obesity. The tests and their evaluation should be performed in a centre familiar with the examination of children, and where the childhood normal values are known. The goal of therapy is to prevent the organ-damaging effects of hypertension in a population where the disease is expected to persist for decades. Customized and realistic lifestyle changes are essential during treatment, but it may be necessary to introduce drug therapy as well. The medication should start as a monotherapy with the lo­west necessary dose. If this does not achieve an adequate therapeutic effect, the treatment is supplemented with another class of antihypertensive medication.]

[Hypertension, which is the most important independent risk factor of cardiovascular mortality, affects approximately 3.5 million people in Hungary. Among them the rate of the unknown, known, but untreated or uncontrolled hypertensive patients is more, than 50%, a fact, which underlines the importance of screening and proper treatment. Since 2017, there is a difference in the classification of hypertension between Europe and the United States, based mostly on SPRINT study, which was pub­lished in 2015. However, in the treatment recommendations more similarities are present. Risk stratification must be the part of hypertension care. In risk communica­tion as an alternative, the concept of vascular age was introduced, which mirrors more suggestively the patients' vascular hazard. In this review the author overviews the novelties in hypertension epidemiology, classification, and risk stratification.]

[Arterial aging is a physiologic process co­existing with general aging of the human body, however arterial age of a given individual can be different from his chronologic age. The underlying causes are determined by genetic factors, cell biologic processes and several risk factors. While risk scores are invaluable tools for adapted preventive strategies, a significant gap exists between predicted and actual event rates. Therefore, it is necessary to refine the risk stratification at an individual level, the tools for this are biomarkers. Biomarkers are surrogate endpoints, which precede, substitute the real, hard endpoint clinical events. It has been proposed that nume­rous potential vascular biomarkers would have a role in primary and secondary cardiovascular prevention. Most of them fit in the concept of early vascular aging (EVA). Only carotid ultrasonography, ankle-brachial index and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity meet perfectly the strictest criteria against the biomarkers. The process of arterial aging may be decelerated and benefi­cially influenced with non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic treatment strategies.]