The diagnosis and treatment of hypertension is a challenge for any health care system. Given the difficulties, limitations, and differences among Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, the International Forum of Internal Medicine (FIMI) has promoted this Consensus, which includes 23 scientific societies from 21 countries in Europe and the Americas. The objective was to develop a proposal capable of establishing an updated, robust, and common framework for the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension, aimed at internists and hospitalists and useful in Latin America, Spain, and Portugal. The document we present includes the executive summary of FIMI recommendations that, for the various aspects of the disease, aim to guarantee effective, safe, efficient, sustainable, and proportionate healthcare interventions based on the best available scientific evidence. The authors consider that this document should be updated within a maximum of two years.

Pascual Valdez is a physician who graduated from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) in 1983. He specializes in Internal Medicine, Critical Care, Geriatrics, Emergency Medicine, and General/Family Medicine. He holds a PhD from UBA and Master's degrees in Public Health and Bioethics. He is a professor of Internal Medicine at both UBA and the National University of La Matanza (UNLaM). He is a former president of the Argentine Society of Medicine and president of the International Forum of Internal Medicine. He directs the Critical Care Residency Program (UBA), the Emergency Medicine Residency Program (UBA), the Internal Medicine Residency Program (SAM), and the Doctoral Program (UNLaM). He is the director of the Intensive Care Residency Program at Vélez Sarsfield Hospital. He is a researcher categorized by the Argentine Ministry of Education. He has received over 300 awards at conferences. He has over 100 publications indexed in PubMed, and his H-index is 63.