[The vascular changes in arterial hypertension].

Although the causes of high blood pressure vary, it is becoming clear that sustained hypertension is associated with changes in cardiovascular structure: left ventricular hypertrophy, decrease in big-medium arteries compliance and increased wall thickness of small arteries. To some extent, these alterations are natural physiological responses and are protective. However, the risk of circulatory death is closely related to left ventricular hypertrophy, and therefore, it is suggested increasingly that effective antihypertensive treatment requires normalization not only of blood pressure but also of vascular structure. The purpose of this brief review is to identify the type of functional and structural changes that are found in arteries of hypertensive individuals.