Updating the Guideline for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Hypertension, November 2022

The first version of the national guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure was developed in 2010, and updated in 2013.
In order to maintain the dynamics of this guideline, considering the changes that occur over time in medical documents and evidence, especially the methods of diagnosis and treatment, the lifestyle, and the condition of the patients and according to an official request of the Office of Technology Assessment, Standardization and Health Tariff of the Ministry of Health in Iran, the process of updating the guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of high blood pressure began in May 2021. 
The second update process of this guideline was planned and implemented in three phases: In the first, phase the Guideline Updating Group (GUG) which includes specialists and subspecialists in various fields such as cardiology, endocrinology, nephrology, neurology, pharmacology, epidemiology, nutrition, health economics, etc. from various universities of medical sciences and scientific associations of the country was formed. They determined the target group, users, scope of the guideline, prepared more than 100 questions, summarized and finalized 10 PICOs during several virtual meetings.
Late in 2021,the second phase of this process began, when  the systematic review group (SRG) conducted reviews for each PICO  by a team of experts, and relevant evidence and documentation were collected and evaluated.
And finally, in September 2022, the third phase and series of meetings of the GUG  were reconvened.
During these meetings, the members of the GUG completed the Evidence to Decision (EtD) tables by using the evidence developed by the SRG that includes latest systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and reviewing previous guidelines, and considering seven judgment factors, then developed and rated the recommendations and suggestions after extensive discussions. 
The full report was sent to external reviewers and their comments were considered in the final report.
The final report will be published in a peer-reviewed journal soon.