Dear Colleagues,

It is with great pleasure that we welcome that we welcome you to this satellite symposium on Shortcuts through the labyrinth: hypertension management in the real world, and to the elegant city of Milan, venue of the 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH).

In this symposium, we will be discussing the challenges faced by physicians with managing hypertension in clinical practice. It is apparent worldwide that blood pressure control is difficult to achieve in practice due to a wealth of physician-and patient-related factors. Yet evidence-based medicine demonstrates clear benefits of optimal blood pressure control in terms of cardio & vascular morbidity and mortality risk reduction.

So, what is the best way to remedy this issue? There is a range of antihypertensive treatments available, but how do we navigate the optimal route through this maze of options? Can all agents in one class be considered equivalent and thereby employed interchangeably, or do some agents have demonstrated benefits that single them out? To achieve optimal blood pressure control it is likely that the majority of patients will require combinations of antihypertensive agents. Again, judicious selection of agents to use in combination therapy will provide greater efficacy and improved outcomes. The presentations from Professors Williams and Unger at this symposium will provide food for thought and fuel discussion on these important topics.

We are also grateful to Dr Sarah Jarvis who joins us for the final presentation providing the view point from primary care practice. Greatest success with medication can only be achieved in partnership with patient. An important role of the physician is to encourage high patient compliance to medications that require chronic administration. Good tolerability of medications is a key factor in promoting high patient compliance, resulting in improved long-term health benefits.

We hope that you enjoy this symposium and we encourage you to participate actively in what we trust will be a fruitful discussion.