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A 42-year-old Asian male presents for follow-up of elevated blood pressure. He has no additional chronic medical problems and is otherwise asymptomatic. An examination is significant for a blood pressure of 162/95 mm Hg but is otherwise unremarkable. Laboratory work shows that his BMP is within normal limits. According to the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association 2017 guidelines, which one of the following would be the most appropriate medication to initiate at this time? A) Clonidine (Catapres), 0.1 mg twice daily B) Hydralazine, 25 mg three times daily C) Lisinopril/hydrochlorothiazide (Zestoretic), 10/12.5 mg daily D) Metoprolol tartrate (Lopressor), 25 mg twice daily E) Triamterene (Dyrenium), 50 mg daily - ANSWER: C This patient has hypertension and according to both JNC 8 and American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association 2017 guidelines, antihypertensive treatment should be initiated. For the general nonAfrican-American population, monotherapy with an ACE inhibitor, an angiotensin receptor blocker, a calcium channel blocker, or a thiazide diuretic would be appropriate for initial management. It is also appropriate to initiate combination antihypertensive therapy as an initial management strategy, although patients should not take an ACE inhibitor and an angiotensin receptor blocker simultaneously. Studies have shown that blood pressure control is achieved faster with the initiation of combination therapy compared to monotherapy, without an increase in morbidity. Lisinopril/hydrochlorothiazide would be an appropriate choice in this patient. Alpha blockers, vasodilators, beta-blockers, and potassium-sparing diuretics are not recommended as initial choices for the treatment of hypertension. A 36-year-old female presents for evaluation of elevated blood pressure. She is asymptomatic and does not take any medications. On examination her blood pressure is 160/96 mm Hg and her BMI is 26 kg/m2. Fasting laboratory studies include the following: