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VIDEO: How to manage BP in a patient with CKD

PHILADELPHIA – Clinicians should individualize BP treatment targets as much as possible when managing patients with chronic kidney disease, but whenever possible, should be aggressive in setting those targets, according to a speaker at the American College of Physicians Internal Medicine Meeting.

The SPRINT trial included more than 2,600 patients with chronic kidney disease, and this patient population saw a 25% reduction in composite cardiovascular endpoints in patients with BP less than 130 mm Hg/80 mm Hg, according to Joseph Vassalotti, MD, chief medical officer for the National Kidney Foundation and clinical associate in the department of nephrology at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

“I think the intensive blood pressure target is something you can consider with your CKD patients,” he told Healio Primary Care Today.

In this video, Vassalotti also discusses best practices for assessing BP, the importance of comparing risks and benefits of medications for patients, the challenges of comparing drugs in the same class, and sequencing of medications.

Disclosure: Vassalotti reports serving as a consultant to Merck.