Antihypertensive agents plus lifestyle modification provided significantly greater blood pressure reductions and overall benefit on morbidity and mortality compared with lifestyle modification alone.
Do antihypertensive agents plus lifestyle modification reduce blood pressure more than lifestyle modification alone in patients with mild hypertension?
The addition of antihypertensive agents to lifestyle modification significantly improves blood pressure reduction in mild hypertension.
To the Editor. —The Treatment of Mild Hypertension Study (TOMHS) 1 represents a worthy contribution to the evaluation of therapeutic interventions on outcomes in patients with mild hypertension. The use of broad categories of morbidity and mortality outcomes demonstrated the overall benefit of antihypertensive agents plus lifestyle modification compared with lifestyle modification alone. Blood pressure reductions with five antihypertensive agents (acebutolol, amlodipine maleate, chlorthalidone, doxazosin mesylate, and enalapril maleate) plus lifestyle modification were significantly greater than with lifestyle modification alone for all follow-up BP blood pressure measurements. The significance of blood pressure reduction was also addressed in the accompanying Editorial 2 stating, All classes of drugs, with the exception of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (enalapril), were equally effective in lowering blood pressure in TOMHS and were superior to the lifestyle-modification regimen given with placebo. Clarification of this statement is needed because the drug dosages evaluated in TOMHS were
Erik Nelson (Wed,) conducted a letter in mild hypertension. Antihypertensive agents plus lifestyle modification vs. Lifestyle modification alone was evaluated on Blood pressure reductions and morbidity/mortality outcomes. Antihypertensive agents plus lifestyle modification provided significantly greater blood pressure reductions and overall benefit on morbidity and mortality compared with lifestyle modification alone.