BACKGROUND: Trials comparing hypertension monotherapies have found either no difference or modest differences in blood pressure (BP) and cardiovascular events. However, no trial has assessed the comparative effectiveness of 2nd-line therapy in patients whose BP was not controlled with a thiazide diuretic. METHODS AND RESULTS: This was an observational study conducted with a hypertension registry of adults enrolled in 3 large integrated health care delivery systems from 2002 to 2007. Patients newly started on thiazide monotherapy whose BP remained uncontrolled were observed after addition of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or β-blocker for subsequent BP control and cardiovascular events. Patients for whom either add-on drug was indicated or contraindicated were excluded. After adjustment for patient characteristics and study year, BP control during the subsequent 6 to 18 months was comparable for the 2 agents (70.5% ACE, 69.0% β-blockers; P=0.09). Rates of incident myocardial infarction (hazard ratio, 1.05; 95% confidence interval, 0.69 to 1.58) and stroke (hazard ratio, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.68 to 1.52) were also similar for the ACE inhibitor and β-blocker groups during an average of 2.3 years of follow-up. There were also no differences in heart failure or renal function. CONCLUSIONS: ACE inhibitors and β-blockers are equally effective in lowering BP and preventing cardiovascular events for patients whose BP is not controlled with a thiazide diuretic alone and who have no compelling indication for a specific 2nd-line agent.
BACKGROUND: Trials comparing hypertension monotherapies have found either no difference or modest differences in blood pressure (BP) and cardiovascular events. However, no trial has assessed the comparative effectiveness of 2nd-line therapy in patients whose BP was not controlled with a thiazide diuretic. METHODS AND RESULTS: This was an observational study conducted with a hypertension registry of adults enrolled in 3 large integrated health care delivery systems from 2002 to 2007. Patients newly started on thiazide monotherapy whose BP remained uncontrolled were observed after addition of either an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or β-blocker for subsequent BP control and cardiovascular events. Patients for whom either add-on drug was indicated or contraindicated were excluded. After adjustment for patient characteristics and study year, BP control during the subsequent 6 to 18 months was comparable for the 2 agents (70.5% ACE, 69.0% β-blockers; P=0.09). Rates of incident myocardial infarction (hazard ratio, 1.05; 95% confidence interval, 0.69 to 1.58) and stroke (hazard ratio, 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.68 to 1.52) were also similar for the ACE inhibitor and β-blocker groups during an average of 2.3 years of follow-up. There were also no differences in heart failure or renal function. CONCLUSIONS:ACE inhibitors and β-blockers are equally effective in lowering BP and preventing cardiovascular events for patients whose BP is not controlled with a thiazide diuretic alone and who have no compelling indication for a specific 2nd-line agent.
Authors: William C Cushman; Charles E Ford; Jeffrey A Cutler; Karen L Margolis; Barry R Davis; Richard H Grimm; Henry R Black; Bruce P Hamilton; Joanne Holland; Chuke Nwachuku; Vasilios Papademetriou; Jeffery Probstfield; Jackson T Wright; Michael H Alderman; Robert J Weiss; Linda Piller; Judy Bettencourt; Sandra M Walsh Journal: J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich) Date: 2002 Nov-Dec Impact factor: 3.738
Authors: Kenneth Jamerson; Michael A Weber; George L Bakris; Björn Dahlöf; Bertram Pitt; Victor Shi; Allen Hester; Jitendra Gupte; Marjorie Gatlin; Eric J Velazquez Journal: N Engl J Med Date: 2008-12-04 Impact factor: 91.245
Authors: Aram V Chobanian; George L Bakris; Henry R Black; William C Cushman; Lee A Green; Joseph L Izzo; Daniel W Jones; Barry J Materson; Suzanne Oparil; Jackson T Wright; Edward J Roccella Journal: JAMA Date: 2003-05-14 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: Jackson T Wright; Jeffrey L Probstfield; William C Cushman; Sara L Pressel; Jeffrey A Cutler; Barry R Davis; Paula T Einhorn; Mahboob Rahman; Paul K Whelton; Charles E Ford; L Julian Haywood; Karen L Margolis; Suzanne Oparil; Henry R Black; Michael H Alderman Journal: Arch Intern Med Date: 2009-05-11
Authors: Eleanor Bimla Schwarz; Debbie Postlethwaite; Yun-Yi Hung; Eric Lantzman; Mary Anne Armstrong; Michael A Horberg Journal: J Gen Intern Med Date: 2011-09-16 Impact factor: 5.128
Authors: Emily D Parker; Karen L Margolis; Nicole K Trower; David J Magid; Heather M Tavel; Susan M Shetterly; P Michael Ho; Bix E Swain; Patrick J O'Connor Journal: Arch Intern Med Date: 2012-10-08