The World Health Organization attributes hypertension, or high blood pressure, as the leading cause of cardiovascular mortality. An elevated arterial pressure is probably the most important public health problem in developed countries.
It is common, asymptomatic readily detectable and easily treatable, and if untreated, often leads to complications. Although our understanding of the pathophysiology of elevated arterial pressure has increased, in 90 to 95% of cases the etiology is still largely unknown.
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As a consequence, in most cases hypertension is treated non-specifically, resulting in the large number of minor side effects and relatively high non-compliance rate. The ratio of hypertension frequency in women versus men increases from 0.6 to 0.7 at age 30 to 1.1 to 1.2 at age 65.
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Dentists have a rare opportunity to detect cases of hypertension. It is a professional responsibility of a dental clinician to inform the patient of their hypertensive state and to offer medical advice, including epropriate referrals.
Souce: Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology Vol. 16 Issue 2 May - Aug 2012 215
Authors: Prashant Kumar, KMK Mastan, Ramesh Chowdhary, K Shanmugam
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