[Prevalence and clinical characteristics of microalbuminuria in the Spanish hypertensive population].

Background And Objective: The presence of microalbuminuria (MAB) in hypertension is now considered a sign of target organ damage. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of MAB in the Spanish hypertensive population and to correlate the degree of urinary albumin excretion (UAE) with the severity of blood pressure (BP) elevation and the presence of other cardiovascular risk factors.

Patients And Method: Cross-sectional study of 4,952 hypertensive patients attended in primary care centres.

Undiagnosed obesity in hypertension: clinical and therapeutic implications.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of obesity in patients with hypertension and to evaluate the relationship between obesity, metabolic syndrome (MetS) and blood pressure (BP) control.

Materials And Methods: We conducted an epidemiological survey in a sample of 19,039 patients with hypertension who consecutively attended a primary healthcare center. Patients were considered to have hypertension if the BP was > or =140/90 mmHg or > or =130/80 mmHg in diabetic patients or if they were undergoing pharmacological treatment for hypertension.

Effects of alcohol withdrawal on 24 hour ambulatory blood pressure among alcohol-dependent patients.

Background: Although epidemiologic studies have reported an association between alcohol intake and high blood pressure (BP), the results of intervention studies have shown inconsistent results. We embarked on a study to determine whether different subgroups of alcohol-dependent patients may be identified in relation to the effect of alcohol on BP.

Methods: Fifty alcohol-dependent men (mean age, 41.