Abstract
Hypertension is a major risk factor for stroke and myocardial infarction. Lowering blood pressure by 5-6 mmHg reduces the stroke risk by 38%.1 It is astonishing that the treatment of hypertension is so beneficial when the efficacy of currently available antihypertensive drugs is so modest. Thus, any drug, which lowers blood pressure and is safe, is approved for clinical use. In the last decade, large clinical trials have been conducted to compare antihypertensive drugs in terms of cardiovascular outcome.2,3 One of the latest trials was the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial (ASCOT), the results of the blood pressure lowering arm of which have recently been reported at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session.4 The database is not complete yet, but the preliminary results already show that the amlodipine- perindopril arm (new drugs) had better outcomes than the diuretic-beta-blocker arm (old drugs). Furthermore, there were more new cases of diabetes in the latter arm.
Recommended Citation
Bernard Man-Yung Cheung, Beta-blockers: A Second Rate Treatment for Hypertension? Journal of the Hong Kong College of Cardiology 2005;13(1) https://doi.org/10.55503/2790-6744.1115
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