摘要篇首： Hypertension is a common cardiovascular problem worldwide. As with any other disease it is important to assess the severity of the disease. However the present classification of hypertension by the Joint National Committee in its seventh report (JNC 7) with numerical values staging the severity of hypertension is theoretically correct but difficult to apply in practice (Table 1).1 Admittedly this is a step in the right direction with lesser number of stages compared to the sixth report.2 The World Health Organization- International Society of Hypertension (WHO-ISH)-1999 3 and the European Society of Hypertension - European Society of Cardiology (ESH-ESC)4 guidelines follow similar numerical classifications (Table 2). All these papers are referred to as 'guidelines' in this article.