How this fits in

Accurate risk stratification identifying those at high risk for future cardiovascular events in the primary care population with hypertension would be desirable. Notably, primary care guidelines advocate an electrocardiogram (ECG) at hypertension onset, but no routine echocardiography or brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) assessment. This primary care study of older patients with uncomplicated hypertension shows that BNP analysis has an important predictive value for all-cause mortality and the occurrence of CVEs, in particular heart failure, and, moreover, seems to be a stronger predictor compared with an ECG and echocardiogram. BNP analysis should therefore be considered as an additional diagnostic tool to the standard risk stratification.