title: Complications of hypertension as encountered by primary care physician.
abstract: Hypertension is a common clinical problem with great implications for public health. It is a silent killer and often remains asymptomatic. So regular BP check-up is a must. Complications of untreated hypertension include ventricular hypertrophy, heart failure and accelerated atherosclerosis, cerebrovascular disease and stroke, renal failure and retinopathy. Primary care physicians have immense duty to perform in this regard because they are the first to encounter them in various stages of the disease. Hypertension can present per se or in emergencies (as in crisis) or in disguise of a complication (like anaemia and renal failure). Control of hypertension and delaying the development of complications should be their first goal. Lastly, some hypertensives with complications may require referral to advanced centres.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, NRS Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata.
authors.forename: Sobhan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Biswas
authors.forename: Dipankar Ghosh
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Dastidar
authors.forename: Keshab Sinha
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.forename: Salil Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Pal
authors.forename: Tamal Kumar
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Biswas
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Ganguly
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications* / Q000628:therapy*; D011320:Primary Health Care