Briefings on JHS, CHS, KHS and THS guidelines and their difference from JNC VII and ESC/ESH

The prevalence of hypertension in different countries is interpreted depending on the guidelines used. In Asia, where no consensual guidelines for hypertension among countries exist, practitioners use their own local guidelines or standard clinical practice. To be able to establish a consensus of hypertension treatment for the Asian population with the objective of providing doctors with a practical approach to help patients reach optimal blood pressure, being aware of the demographics and recognising the differences in clinical practice in the region are an important first step. In this paper, the authors, who were also committee members of the First Consensus Meeting of the Asian Hypertension League representing Japan, China, Korea and Taiwan, focus on the key points presented in the hypertension guidelines or clinical practice in their own regions, highlighting similarities and differences among them and then comparing them with the USA's Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC VII) and with the European Society of Cardiology and European Society of Hypertension guidelines.