Implications for perioperative practice of changes in guidelines on the management of hypertension: challenges and opportunities

New definitions and treatments of arterial hypertension offer challenges and opportunities when these patients present for surgery. In the past decade, new guidelines have proposed important changes in the management of hypertensive patients. The management of hypertension, a chronic condition, provides the context for the perioperative management of hypertensive patients. Changes in blood pressure management driven by recent North American1 and European2,3 guidelines have significant implications for the cardiovascular management of surgical patients, and, in turn, their management during anaesthesia and surgery.