Benefit of antihypertensive treatment in the diabetic patients enrolled in the Systolic Hypertension in Europe (Syst-Eur) trial.

In this review we attempt to determine the role of calcium channel blockers in preventing cardiovascular sequelae in patients with both hypertension and diabetes mellitus. The data have been collected from three sources: post-hoc analyses of subgroups of diabetic patients in placebo-controlled hypertension trials (SHEP, Syst-Eur, Syst-China); stepped-care blood pressure-oriented trials (HOT); and comparative trials focusing primarily on metabolic aspects and intermediate endpoints (ABCD, FACET). On balance, the data seem to indicate that long-acting calcium channel blockers score remarkably well in preventing cardiovascular complications in diabetic hypertensive patients.