Patient Cases 2. A Patient with Apparent Resistant Hypertension.

True treatment-resistant hypertension (TRH) is defined by specific criteria and a failure to response to initial therapy options does not necessarily mean that a patient has TRH. In this case, a 44-year-old male was discharged on a fixed combination of valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) 160/125 mg/day after presenting to the emergency room with paraesthesia of the upper left limb and recording a blood pressure (BP) of 190/110 mmHg. The patient had a number of other cardiovascular (CV) risk factors, and was determined to be at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus and of CV death. Carvedilol and atorvastatin were added, but 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) showed persistent hypertension. After specialist assessment, the patient's antihypertensive regimen was switched to a fixed-dose combination of olmesartan/HCTZ in the morning and a fixed-dose combination of olmesartan/amlodipine in the evening. Repeat ABPM 6 weeks later showed better BP control then previous ABPM.