essential hypertension, an elevated systemic arterial pressure for which no cause can be found. It is often the only significant clinical finding. Individuals with elevated blood pressure are at risk for cardiovascular disease. In examining patients with essential hypertension, clinicians consider the complex mechanisms that control blood pressure, such as the arterial baroreflex, body fluid regulators, the renin-angiotensin system, and vascular autoregulation. Also called primary hypertension. See also benign hypertension, malignant hypertension.
