A 47-year-old woman has an average home and office blood pressure of 134/82 mm Hg despite 4 months of sodium reduction, weight loss, and regular

Question

A 47-year-old woman has an average home and office blood pressure of 134/82 mm Hg despite 4 months of sodium reduction, weight loss, and regular exercise. She has no diabetes, CKD, or clinical cardiovascular disease. Her 10-year PREVENT cardiovascular risk is 8.4%. What is the best next step?

Accepted Answer

Begin one first-line antihypertensive medication and continue lifestyle therapy

Answer

Continue lifestyle therapy alone until blood pressure reaches 140/90 mm Hg

Answer

Begin two first-line medications in a fixed-dose combination

Answer

Begin beta-blocker monotherapy because risk exceeds 7.5%

Answer

Begin aspirin alone because risk modification makes blood-pressure therapy unnecessary

Primary Hypertension — USMLE Step 2 CK MCQ

A 47-year-old woman has an average home and office blood pressure of 134/82 mm Hg despite 4 months of sodium reduction, weight loss, and regular exercise. She has no diabetes, CKD, or clinical cardiovascular disease. Her 10-year PREVENT cardiovascular risk is 8.4%. What is the best next step?