Updated for 2026 • 2 ANCC contact hours (0.75 pharmacology) • Peer-reviewed by specialists
Hypertension Management in Primary Care
Make safer, more confident hypertension management decisions at every stage of care
Managing Hypertension in Primary Care
Every day we encounter patients with hypertension in primary care. Whether you're diagnosing a new patient, following someone with elevated blood pressure, or inheriting a complex medication regimen, knowing what to do next isn't always straightforward.
Should this patient start with lifestyle changes, or is it time for medication?
Should I start one medication or two?
Which first-line medication is the best fit for this patient?
What do I do if their blood pressure still isn't at goal—even after trying multiple medications?
When should I start thinking about resistant or secondary hypertension?
Is this severe hypertension that I can safely manage in clinic—or does this patient need emergency evaluation?
Hypertension management in the real world is more than treating a number—it's about making thoughtful clinical decisions over time, tailored to the patient in front of us. We need to balance cardiovascular and kidney protection, recognize medication side effects, and know when a patient's presentation or comorbidities require a different approach.
This course gives you a practical clinical framework to help you make safer, more confident hypertension management decisions—from confirming the diagnosis through long-term follow-up.
What you’ll learn in this Hypertension Course:
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Diagnose hypertension accurately using office and home blood pressure measurements and apply current treatment recommendations
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Choose, titrate, and troubleshoot first-line antihypertensive medications with greater confidence
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Evaluate resistant hypertension, identify common secondary causes, and know when referral is appropriate
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Distinguish severe asymptomatic hypertension from hypertensive emergency and make safe outpatient management decisions.
Why This Hypertension Course is Different
Most hypertension education focuses on memorizing blood pressure thresholds or reviewing guideline recommendations, while others spend most of their time explaining cardiovascular physiology. Others summarize the latest guidelines without showing how those recommendations translate into real patient care.
But managing hypertension in primary care is rarely that straightforward in the real world. Patients forget medications, home blood pressure readings don't match the office, side effects change your treatment plan, blood pressure remains uncontrolled despite multiple medications… and sometimes the biggest question isn't what medication to prescribe—it's whether you're dealing with resistant hypertension, a secondary cause, or a hypertensive emergency.
This course focuses on how hypertension is actually managed in primary care. Rather than memorizing algorithms, you'll develop a practical clinical framework for making treatment decisions, optimizing medications, recognizing common pitfalls, and managing patients confidently over time.
What’s Included in This Hypertension Course
This self-paced course includes concise video lessons that walk through a structured approach to diagnosing, treating, and managing hypertension in adult primary care. You'll learn how to accurately diagnose hypertension, choose and optimize antihypertensive medications, troubleshoot common treatment challenges, evaluate resistant hypertension, and distinguish severe hypertension from hypertensive emergency using practical, evidence-based clinical frameworks.
The course also includes practice cases, downloadable Cheat Sheets, and slides for quick reference, and an audio-only playback option through the course app, so you can review lessons while commuting or between clinic sessions.
This activity includes the opportunity to earn 2 hours of ANCC continuing education credit (which includes 0.75 hour(s) of pharmacology) upon completion of the post-test and activity evaluation.
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Learn the fundamentals of hypertension diagnosis, blood pressure physiology, accurate blood pressure measurement, home blood pressure monitoring, treatment goals, cardiovascular risk, and lifestyle interventions that form the foundation of long-term hypertension management
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Learn how to accurately diagnose hypertension using office and home blood pressure measurements. You'll develop a structured approach to confirming the diagnosis, identifying white coat and masked hypertension, and performing an appropriate initial evaluation.
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Understand current standards of care for hypertension management, including baseline laboratory evaluation, ongoing monitoring, treatment goals, and recommended follow-up intervals. You'll also learn how to incorporate kidney assessment, cardiovascular risk, and home blood pressure monitoring into routine practice.
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Learn how to apply the latest hypertension guidelines to real-world primary care. We'll walk through treatment thresholds, when to start medications, lifestyle recommendations, combination therapy, and how to individualize treatment decisions based on each patient's clinical picture.
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Develop confidence prescribing and monitoring ACE inhibitors, ARBs, thiazide and thiazide-like diuretics, and calcium channel blockers. You'll learn how to choose the right medication, manage common side effects, monitor labs, and optimize treatment over time.
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Know when—and when not—to use second-line antihypertensive medications. We'll discuss beta blockers, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, vasodilators, centrally acting agents, and other therapies, including common pitfalls and medication sequencing in primary care.
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Learn a practical approach to patients whose blood pressure remains above goal despite treatment. You'll differentiate true resistant hypertension from pseudoresistance, evaluate common secondary causes, optimize medication regimens, and know when specialist referral is appropriate.
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Confidently distinguish severe asymptomatic hypertension from hypertensive emergency. You'll learn how to recognize acute end-organ damage, determine which patients require emergency evaluation, and safely manage severe hypertension in the outpatient setting when appropriate.
Who This Hypertension Management Course is For:
Perfect for:
New NPs learning to manage hypertension independently in primary care
Experienced NPs looking for updated guidelines and practical clinical frameworks
Providers transitioning into primary care
Preceptors teaching hypertension management and clinical reasoning to students or new graduates
Who this is NOT for:
Pediatric or OB providers
Emergency, inpatient, or critical care clinicians
Clinicians looking for an advanced cardiology or nephrology fellowship-level course
Anyone wanting a highly academic cardiology course
This series is designed specifically for adult outpatient primary care.
Get Instant Access to Hypertension Management in Primary Care
One Payment Of:
$347
Your Enrollment Includes:
Complete self-paced hypertension management course
Realistic primary care case-based practice scenarios
Downloadable treatment algorithms and clinical reference guides
Mobile app with audio-only lesson playback
Downloadable Cheat Sheets and references
2 ANCC CE hours (which includes 0.75 hour(s) of pharmacology
Please note: This course is intended for educational purposes only and is designed to support clinical learning. It does not replace professional judgment, clinical guidelines, or consultation with specialists when appropriate.
Want to upgrade to the Chronic Care Series Bundle?
The Chronic Care Series Bundle is a bundle of four focused courses. Each course can be purchased individually, but has been bundled to create the most comprehensive learning experience.
The Bundle Includes:
Diabetes Management in Primary Care - $347
Hypertension Management in Primary Care - $347
Chronic Kidney Disease Management in Primary Care - $347
Renal Lab Interpretation Essentials for Primary Care - $347
8.75 ANCC contact hours (including 2.25 pharmacology CE)
$1,388 value purchased separately - save 47% as a bundle | Learn more
$650
One-time Payment
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2 hours of CE (includes 0.75 pharmacology CE)
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Access expires after 1 year with the option to extend access for a nomial fee at the end of the year term. Any downloadable items are yours to keep.
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Yes. The goal of this course isn't simply to review guideline recommendations—it's to help you apply them confidently in real patient care.
You'll learn how to make treatment decisions, optimize medication regimens, troubleshoot common side effects, evaluate resistant hypertension, and recognize when a patient requires additional workup or emergency evaluation.
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No.
However, if you'd like a deeper understanding of interpreting kidney function, electrolytes, or urine albumin results, the Lab Interpretation Series provides a more comprehensive framework for interpreting those laboratory tests.
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You don’t have to purchase both bundles, but many primary care NPs find that lab interpretation and chronic disease management go hand-in-hand.
If you choose both, select the Chronic Care Series — Lab Interpretation Companion so you don’t pay for the renal labs course twice.
Frequently asked questions
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Absolutely. It was built especially for new and early-career NPs.
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Yes. We cover first-line and second-line antihypertensive medications, including when to start treatment, how to choose the right medication, common side effects, laboratory monitoring, medication optimization, and practical strategies for managing patients whose blood pressure isn't at goal.
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Yes. ANCC contact hours count for both credentialing bodies.
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Yes. The course has been updated to reflect the latest ACC/AHA hypertension recommendations and incorporates current evidence throughout the lessons.
Rather than simply reviewing the guidelines, we focus on how to apply them in everyday primary care practice.
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This course is included in the Chronic Care Series Bundle.
If you're interested in diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and hypertension management, the bundle offers the most comprehensive learning experience and provides significant savings compared to purchasing each course individually.
About Real World NP
Real World NP provides practical, continuing education for nurse practitioners in primary care—without the fluff. Founded by Liz Rohr, an NP and educator, we’ve helped over 10,000 learners feel more confident in real-world practice.
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Real World NP provides practical continuing education for nurse practitioners in primary care. This hypertension management course teaches nurse practitioners how to diagnose, evaluate, and manage hypertension using current evidence-based guidelines and practical clinical frameworks. Topics include hypertension diagnosis, home blood pressure monitoring, first-line antihypertensive medications, resistant hypertension, secondary hypertension, hypertensive urgency and emergency, and long-term outpatient management.
Designed specifically for adult outpatient primary care, this course emphasizes clinical reasoning, medication management, and realistic patient cases that help nurse practitioners confidently manage hypertension in everyday practice.