Book excerpt: Hypertension is a condition which affects millions of people worldwide and its treatment greatly reduces the risk of strokes and heart attacks. This fully revised and updated edition of the ABC of Hypertension is an established guide providing all the non–specialist needs to know about the measurement of blood pressure and the investigation and management of hypertensive patients. This new edition provides comprehensively updated and revised information on how and whom to treat. The ABC of Hypertension will prove invaluable to general practitioners who may be screening large numbers of patients for hypertension, as well as nurse practitioners, midwives and other healthcare professionals.