Calcium channel blocker compared with angiotensin receptor blocker for patients with hypertension: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

To explore the clinical effects of a calcium channel blocker compared with an angiotensin II receptor blocker in hypertensive patients, the authors collected data from randomized controlled trials. The pooled outcomes were all-cause mortality, stroke, myocardial infarction, and heart failure. Eight head-to-head trials enrolling 25,084 patients were included. There was no significant mortality difference in the two arms (relative risk, 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.91-1.07). However, calcium channel blockers were more effective in reducing stroke (relative risk, 0.87; 95% confidence interval, 0.76-0.99) and myocardial infarction incidence (relative risk, 0.86; 95% confidence interval, 0.76-0.98). There was no significant difference with heart failure incidence between the two arms but a lower trend in patients with angiotensin II receptor blockers was noted (relative risk, 1.4; 95% confidence interval, 0.99-1.98). The meta-analysis suggested that initially use of a calcium channel blocker might be superior to an angiotensin II receptor blocker for prevention of stroke and myocardial infarction.