Refractory Arterial Hypertension: Features of Neurohormonal and Water-salt Imbalanceand Approaches to Antihypertensive Drug Therapy

Refractory arterial hypertension is characterized by a lack of control of target blood pressure, despite the prolonged use >5 antihypertensive drugs with different mechanisms of action, including longacting diuretic chlorthalidone and the mineralcorticoid receptor antagonists (spironolactone or eplerenone). The review presents the results of clinical studies devoted the elucidating peculiarities of the neurohormonal status and water-salt balance in such patients and developing new approaches to antihypertensive drug therapy based on them. According to these studies, individuals with refractory hypertension differ from patients with resistant hypertension with the higher of sympathetic nervous system activity and the absence of an increased of intrathoracic fluid volume, which indirectly indicates a significant decrease in the intravascular fluid volume. In this regard, the review focuses on the data obtained in assessing the clinical efficacy of sympatholytics clonidine and reserpine in patients with resistant and refractory hypertension, as well as renal sodium-glucose co-transporter type 2 inhibitors, which suppress the sympathetic nervous system activity and can be used to overcome refractory hypertension in patients with type 2 diabetes.