A knowledge-based system for time-qualified diagnosis and treatment of hypertension

A knowledge base is described that was developed as a result of the cooperation between the Department of Electronic Engineering and the Postgraduate School of Nephrology of the University of Florence, and the Interuniversity Center of Clinical Chronobiology. The structure of the knowledge base can be logically divided into three modules: diagnosis, classification, and therapy of hypertension. The first module is based on the application of chronobiological analysis methods to time series of blood pressure data, recorded over a time span of 24 or, preferably, 48 h. The second module deals with the classification of hypertension; its purpose is to decide whether or not the patient is suffering from secondary hypertension, i.e. whether there are any pathological events that might cause a blood pressure elevation. The last module of the knowledge base suggests a treatment for the hypertensive patient, according to the patient´s clinical report, the results of the former modules, and a database that includes the characteristics of the most commonly used antihypertensive drugs