title: Cardiovascular risk profile of young hypertensive patients: the OPENJOVEN study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Knowledge of the hypertensive patient's characteristics is an important aspect to improve its clinical handling. Because of the burden that the patients of advanced age suppose in primary care, few data exist about the youngest patient's cardiovascular profile.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe the cardiovascular profile of the young hypertensive patient (<55 years) in primary care in Spain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional multicentre study that was carried out in centres of primary care of the whole Spanish territory. At total of 2108 doctors participated and 6815 patients diagnosed with high blood pressure were included. We used a survey of risk factors, subclinical organ damage, and cardiovascular or renal established disease according to the European Society of Hypertension and the European Society of Cardiology 2007 guidelines to evaluate the cardiovascular risk.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the hypertensive patients, 5.8% did have not another cardiovascular risk factor (CVRF), 23.2% had one risk factor associated with high blood pressure, 32.8% two, 24.7% three, 11.3% four, and 2.3% had five risk factors. The most prevalent cardiovascular risk factor was dyslipidaemia, found in 80.4% (37.9% with treatment), followed by abdominal obesity, in 45.9% of the hypertensive patients. The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 44.4%. The cardiovascular risk was average in 0.2% of the sample, low in 5%, moderate in 26.1%, high in 47.3%, and very high in 21.4%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study demonstrates that newly diagnosed young hypertensive patients have an intense association of CVRF and a high cardiovascular risk.
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Hipertensión, Hospital Clínico San Carlos, Madrid, Spain. nmartellc@uhta.es
authors.forename: Nieves
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Martell-Claros
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Galgo-Nafria
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001794:Blood Pressure; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D050171:Dyslipidemias / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D056128:Obesity, Abdominal / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology