Antihypertensive drug therapy resulted in a significant reduction in coronary heart disease among over 37,000 treated patients.
Does antihypertensive drug therapy reduce coronary heart disease and other cardiovascular events in patients with hypertension?
This overview highlights that antihypertensive therapy significantly reduces coronary heart disease, reinforcing the broad cardiovascular benefits of blood pressure control.
The recent publication of a new meta-analysis of 14 randomized trials of antihypertensive drug therapy in theLancethas heightened the debate regarding the benefits of treatment of hypertension.1,2There is little disagreement that pharmacologic therapy results in a decrease in strokes and in stroke deaths, reduction in the occurrence of congestive heart failure, reversal of left ventricular hypertrophy in more patients receiving treatment than on placebo or control, and a reduction in the rate of progression of renal disease in adequately treated hypertensive subjects.3-7This article stems from the finding in the new meta-analysis that hypertension treatment results in a significant reduction in coronary heart disease (CHD). Although previous individual trials and overviews have suggested reductions of a similar magnitude, these findings have been dismissed as unimportant because statistical significance was not achieved.2This most recent and comprehensive meta-analysis included over 37 000 patients treated for
Marvin Moser (Mon,) conducted a review in hypertension (n=37,000). Antihypertensive drug therapy vs. placebo or control was evaluated on coronary heart disease (CHD). Antihypertensive drug therapy resulted in a significant reduction in coronary heart disease among over 37,000 treated patients.