A Search for Secondary Hypertension: "Where's Waldo?"

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Tolu, Seda Kumar, Neelja Arora, Shitij
Editor	Muacevic, Alexander Adler, John R
Copyright Year	2021
Abstract	Hypertension is an important modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease and stroke. Most cases are diagnosed as essential hypertension however, in some patients, a secondary (and potentially curable) cause is identified. Selecting the right patient to screen for a secondary cause can be challenging and certain clinical and laboratory characteristics can guide work-up. We report a case of a 67-year-old man who presented with intracranial hemorrhage. He had a history of resistant hypertension for three decades and chronic hypokalemia while on a non-diuretic antihypertensive regimen. We discuss our approach to a hypertensive hypokalemic phenotype that led to the diagnosis of Liddle's syndrome with complete amelioration of hypokalemia with directed therapy. This case highlights the importance of accurate and early screening for causes of secondary hypertension in the outpatient community, and in doing so, preventing downstream catastrophic outcomes. It is imperative to develop a clear, concise approach to secondary hypertension, and raising awareness for the importance of early diagnosis as it can potentially avoid downstream sequela.
Journal	Cureus
Volume Number	13
DOI	10.7759/cureus.15698
PubMed Central reference number	PMC8281791
Issue Number	6
PubMed reference number	34277285
e-ISSN	21688184
Language	English
Publisher	Cureus
Publisher Date	2021-06-16
Publisher Place	Palo Alto (CA)
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	cardio vascular disease outpatient management hypertension medical screening secondary hypertension general nephrology
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Case study
Subject	Medicine