Background:

Blood pressure measurement is one of the most performed procedures in clinical practice. This narrative review aims to expose the relevant aspects surrounding the definition of arterial hypertension, the historical path of its treatment, and the contribution of studies to the decrease in mortality due to cardiovascular disease over time.

Methodology:

Narrative review of the history of arterial hypertension from recognizing high blood pressure as a factor associated with cardiovascular risk to the historical evolution of treatment up to the SPRINT study published in 2015.

Results:

Until about 50 years ago, arterial hypertension was known as an essential pathology; this condition was not always considered a disease. The discovery of blood pressure has been attributed to Stephen Hales, a poet, orator and priest born in England. The first measurement of blood pressure and incidentally pulse pressure was made in 1733 in animals. The origin of blood pressure, arterial hypertension, and the path travelled for recognizing this condition as a disease and later its treatment until reaching the SPRINT study in 2015, which demonstrated the benefit of reducing the target systolic blood pressure figure in a non-diabetic population.

Conclusion:

This narrative review demonstrates that the recognition of high blood pressure as a cardiovascular risk factor allowed progress in scientific research to determine the treatment and blood pressure figures that favor the reduction of mortality and morbidity from this cause.