The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 271 No 7279 p804
13 December 2003

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JAMA abstract (more)

Equal benefit for antihypertensives

Patients with coronary artery disease who need treatment for high blood pressure gain similar benefits whether their treatment regimen is based on a calcium channel blocker or on a beta blocker, study data indicate.

The study compared multidrug strategies based either on verapamil or atenolol in a trial of 22,576 hypertensive patients with coronary artery disease. After an average of 2.7 years, incidence of non-fatal heart attack, non-fatal stroke or death was similar for both treatment strategies. Two-year blood pressure control was also similar between groups (JAMA 2003;290:2805). An accompanying editorial (ibid, p2859) points out that when blood pressure needs to be reduced, diuretics are the first choice and blockade of the renin-angiotensin system a close second.