Effect of antihypertensive treatment on cardiovascular events in elderly hypertensive patients: Japan's Benidipine Research on Antihypertensive Effects in the Elderly (J-BRAVE).

The achievement rate of blood pressure (BP) target and the relationship between on-treatment BP and development of cardiovascular events (i.e., stroke, myocardial infarction, and heart failure) were investigated in a total of 8,897 patients in the Japan's Benidipine Research on Antihypertensive Effects in the Elderly (J-BRAVE) study, a prospective, 3-year observational study of a calcium channel blocker-based treatment in hypertensive patients aged ≥65 years as a post-marketing surveillance. Blood pressure decreased significantly from 164.8 ± 14.1/88.2 ± 10.3 mmHg to 137.0 ± 13.5/75.6 ± 9.5 mmHg and the percentage of patients who achieved BP <140/90 mmHg was 57.2% after 3 years. The incidence of cardiovascular events was 7.54/1,000 patient-years. Subgroups of patients stratified by on-treatment systolic blood pressure (SBP) were analyzed. Baseline BP, body mass index (BMI), the dose of benidipine, the mean number of anti-hypertensive drugs, and the incidence of cardiovascular events were higher in patients with on-treatment SBP ≥160 mmHg than in those with an SBP of <130 mmHg. In patients aged 65 to 74 years (n = 5,092) and patients aged ≥75 years (n = 3,805), the percentages of patients who achieved the BP target of <140/90 mmHg were 57.5% and 56.6% after 3 years, respectively, and the incidence of cardiovascular events was higher in patients with on-treatment SBP ≥160 mmHg in both age subgroups. The results of the J-BRAVE study show that on-treatment SBP ≥160 mmHg is associated with a higher incidence of cardiovascular events in elderly hypertensive patients.