The Invisible Silent Killer

Systemic hypertension has been described as a “silent killer” due to its asymptomatic course which can remain unnoticed by clinicians even as it gives rise to coronary artery disease, stroke, and renal failure. That said, if one is looking for hypertension, it can be easily found in the first set of data collected routinely during any patie nt encounter. In moving from the systemic to the pulmonary circulation, however, elevated blood pressures pose a formidable mortality risk that is not only silent but also nearly invisible.
Source: Mayo Clinic Proceedings - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Tags: Editorial Source Type: research