A 28 year old woman came to a community pharmacy for advice. She had a free blood pressure check up in a shopping mall. She was told that her blood pressure was 140/90 mm Hg. She was concerned about taking medications long term.

a) Did she fit the diagnosis of hypertension? (2 marks)

b) If the blood pressure reading was a true reading of her blood pressure, would it need to be lowered? (1 mark)

c) Are there any long term risks at this level of blood pressure? (2 marks)

d) What would be the optimal blood pressure in her case? (2 marks)

e) Should she take a thiazide diuretic? (2 marks)

f) Should she take a beta-blocker? (2 marks)

g) If her doctor decided to prescribe her antihypertensive medications, how could compliance be improved? (2 marks)

h) She was getting married later in the year and would like to plan for pregnancy. What would your advice be regarding her blood pressure management including the anti-hypertensive of choice? (3 marks)

i) She was very keen on lifestyle measures to lower her blood pressure. What FOUR lifestyle changes could help her lower her blood pressure? (4 marks)