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Dietary guidelines recommend intake targets for some essential minerals, based on observational and experimental evidence relating mineral intake levels to health outcomes. For prevention of cardiovascular disease, reducing sodium intake and increasing potassium intake are the principal tools. While reducing sodium intake has received greatest public health priority, emerging evidence suggests that increasing potassium intake may be a more important target for cardiovascular prevention. Increased potassium intake reduces blood pressure and mitigates the hypertensive effects of excess sodium intake, and the recent large Phase III SSaSS trial reported that increasing potassium intake (and reducing sodium intake) in populations with low potassium intake and high sodium intake, through salt substitution (25% KCl, 75%NaCl), reduces the risk of stroke in patients at increased cardiovascular risk. As key sources of potassium intake include fruit, vegetables, nuts, and legumes, higher potassium intake may be associated with healthy dietary patterns. The current review makes the case that increasing potassium intake might represent a more advantageous dietary strategy for prevention of cardiovascular disease. Future research should focus on addressing the independent effect of potassium supplementation in populations with low or moderate potassium intake, and determine effective strategies to increase potassium intake from diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current review is to describe the definition and prevalence of resistant arterial hypertension (RAH), the difference between refractory hypertension, patient characteristics and major risk factors for RAH, how RAH is diagnosed, prognosis and outcomes for patients. According to the WHO, approximately 1.28 billion adults aged 30–79 worldwide have arterial hypertension, and over 80% of them do not have blood pressure (BP) under control. RAH is defined as above-goal elevated BP despite the concurrent use of 3 or more classes of antihypertensive drugs, commonly including a long-acting calcium channel blocker, an inhibitor of the renin-angiotensin system (angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker), and a thiazide diuretic administered at maximum or maximally tolerated doses and at appropriate dosing frequency. RAH occurs in nearly 1 of 6 hypertensive patients. It often remains unrecognised mainly because patients are not prescribed ≥3 drugs at maximal doses despite uncontrolled BP. RAH distinctly increases the risk of developing coronary artery disease, heart failure, stroke and chronic kidney disease and confers higher rates of major adverse cardiovascular events as well as increased all-cause mortality. Timely diagnosis and treatment of RAH may mitigate the associated risks and improve short and long-term prognosis. Resistant arterial hypertension is a serious condition that leads to severe cardiovascular complications, such as heart attack, stroke and death. It is defined as above-goal elevated blood pressure despite the concurrent use of 3 or more classes of antihypertensive medications administered at maximum or maximally tolerated doses and at appropriate dosing frequency. Non-adherence to antihypertensive medications must be excluded before resistant arterial hypertension is diagnosed. Blood pressure should be measured appropriately. A person should sit in a comfortable chair with back supported, both feet flat on the ground, and legs uncrossed for at least 5 min before blood pressure measurement. A cuff length is supposed to be at least 80% and a width of at least 40% of the arm circumference. Placing the cuff directly on the skin of the upper arm at the level of the heart. Obtaining 3 readings 1 min apart. Discarding the first reading and taking the mean of the second and third readings Resistant arterial hypertension should be distinguished from refractory hypertension, when blood pressure remains uncontrolled on maximal or near-maximal therapy of 5 or more antihypertensive agents of different classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]