Hypertension Center Certification

Hypertension is a major risk factor for both heart disease and stroke. But while controlling your patients' high blood pressure of the utmost importance, complications and comorbidities can make it difficult to achieve. Hypertension Center certification helps practices demonstrate the expertise needed for effective treatment.

Hypertension Centers are certified as either a Comprehensive Hypertension Center or a Hypertension Practice Center based on the characteristics and capabilities outlined below.

Eligibility Requirements for Comprehensive Centers

• Center is located in either academic medical center or in large multi-specialty clinics.
• Director meets criteria outlined in certification requirements.
• Center is recognized as referral and treatment resource for resistant and secondary hypertension, and alternative therapies.
• Personnel are certified in recording blood pressure and in maintaining equipment for the center as well as patient self-monitoring.
• Center performs and interprets 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure recording.
• Center has facilities to perform extensive multispecialty examination and treatment to assess complicated hypertension problems:
• Quantitative echocardiography
• Exercise testing
• Ankle-brachial index
• Carotid doppler
• Evaluation of autonomic function
• Center performs diagnostic evaluation:
• Renal angiography
• Renal vein renin sampling
• Doppler renal ultrasound
• CT angiography
• MR angiography
• Adrenal vein sampling for aldosterone
• Center performs interventions:
• Renal angioplasty with/without stenting
• Laparoscopic adrenalectomy
• Sleep lab
• Center participates in investigator-initiated research and/or in appropriate multicenter trials and observational studies.
• Center performs ongoing quality improvement in accord with standardized quality performance guidelines.
• Personnel participate in ongoing hypertension educational activities.
• Personnel participate in teaching hypertension to medical students, house officers and fellows.
• Personnel participate in the publication of scholarly articles related to the field of hypertension and related disorders.

Eligibility Requirements for Practice Centers

• Director meets criteria outlined in certification requirements.v
• Majority of practice must be devoted to patients with hypertension and related disorders.
• Recognition as referral and treatment resource for resistant and secondary hypertension, and alternative therapies.
• Personnel are certified in recording blood pressure and in maintaining equipment for both the Center and self-monitoring for patients.
• Performs and interprets 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure recording.
• Has access to facilities to perform extensive multi-specialty examination and treatment to assess complicated hypertension problems:
• Quantitative echocardiography
• Exercise testing
• Ankle-brachial index
• Carotid doppler
• Evaluation of autonomic function
• Diagnostic Evaluation:
• Renal angiography
• Renal vein renin sampling
• Doppler renal ultrasound
• CT angiography
• MR angiography
• Adrenal vein sampling for aldosterone
• Interventions:
• Renal angioplasty with/without stenting
• Laparoscopic adrenalectomy
• Sleep lab
• Participates in investigator-initiated research and/or in appropriate multi-center trials and observational studies.
• Practice performs ongoing quality improvement in accord with standardized quality performance guidelines.
• Personnel participate in ongoing hypertension educational activities.