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Grossman, Ehud; Goldbourt, Uri
doi: 10.1007/s11906-001-0054-2pmid: 11551371
Meta-analysis has become a very popular tool to compare the efficacy of different antihypertensive regimens. Combining results from various outcome studies may provide evidence to guide the therapeutic approach even before results from large prospective studies are available. However, meta-analysis may be misleading if it is not done meticulously. Some meta-analyses that received broad news media coverage in the recent years were misleading. One analysis suggested that the use of short-acting nifedipine in moderate to high doses in patients with coronary disease increased mortality. This claim was refuted later by observational studies. Based on another meta-analysis, it was claimed that diuretics and β-blockers are equally effective in reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Another more careful meta-analysis, omitting one study in which most patients were on combination therapy and not on b-blocker monotherapy, showed the superiority of diuretic versus β-blocker treatment in the elderly. Calcium antagonists were recently blamed for increasing the rate of myocardial infarction and congestive heart failure in hypertensive patients, and therefore their use was not recommended as first-line therapy in hypertension. This recommendation was based on a meta-analysis subject to major drawbacks and was misleading. Another notion based on meta-analysis was that angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors reduce left ventricular mass more than diuretics. This notion was refuted by three large randomized studies. A recent meta-analysis, which showed a similar blood pressure lowering effect for all angiotensin receptor blockers, was refuted by head-to-head studies. Thus, when performed correctly, meta-analysis can be an important tool, but when uncritically employed, it is prone to be misleading.
doi: 10.1007/s11906-001-0055-1pmid: 11551372
The number of people living in the United States who have diabetes and high blood pressure is over 11 million and rising. Together, these two diseases are devastating to the whole body if not aggressively controlled. The tight recommendations put forth by the Joint National Committee VI for better control of blood pressure and control of proteinuria have helped diminish further organ failure in patients with hypertension and diabetes. Combination therapy has been found to be very effective, and one arm should be an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor.
Umans, Jason; Lindheimer, Marshall
doi: 10.1007/s11906-001-0056-0pmid: 11551373
Human pregnancy, normally characterized by systemic vasodilation and modest hypotension, can be complicated by underlying maternal hypertension and several unique hypertensive disorders, including pre-eclampsia. Although well-designed and adequately powered clinical trials are critically needed, there have been several recent meta-analyses of this large literature, along with consensus statements and treatment guidelines from three distinct multidisciplinary groups of clinicians and investigators. In this paper we review recent analyses and guidelines, advising on our current approach to antihypertensive therapy in pregnant women.
doi: 10.1007/s11906-001-0057-zpmid: 11551374
Self-measurement of blood pressure (BP) and 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) are increasingly used in order to improve cardiovascular risk stratification over and beyond traditional methods, including sphygmomanometric BP measurement. Self-measured BP has the advantage of being cheap, quite representative of the usual BP over long periods of time, and devoid of the “white coat” effect. Only a few data exist on the prognostic value of self-measured BP. Most of the outcome studies with 24-hour ABPM have been conducted in patients with essential hypertension who were untreated at the time of execution of ABPM. Cardiovascular risk showed a direct association with ambulatory BP and an inverse association with the degree of BP reduction from day to night. White coat hypertension versus ambulatory hypertension and dippers versus nondippers are two classifications based on arbitrary operational risk categories. ABPM may be valuable for refining cardiovascular risk stratification in untreated subjects with office hypertension, as well as those with resistant hypertension.
doi: 10.1007/s11906-001-0058-ypmid: 11551375
Most forms of primary aldosteronism are surgically correctable. However, when surgery is not appropriate, medical management is just as effective in correcting the pathophysiologic abnormalities due to aldosterone excess. A prerequisite for the rational medical management of primary aldosteronism is an understanding of the mechanisms that sustain hypertension. Primary aldosteronism can be associated with severe and resistant hypertension, and persistent hypervolemia is the primary reason for resistance to therapy. Patients with overriding comorbidities or strong preferences have been medically treated over the intermediate term of 5 to 7 years without evidence of escape or evidence of malignant transformation of adrenal adenomas.
Turner, Stephen; Schwartz, Gary; Chapman, Arlene; Boerwinkle, Eric
doi: 10.1007/s11906-001-0059-xpmid: 11551376
Sequencing of the human genome has elevated the potential for genetic information to aid in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of common chronic diseases. One beneficial application of genetic information is the identification of variants that influence response to pharmaceutical agents used to lower blood pressure and prevent target organ complications of hypertension. Knowledge of genetic variants that influence blood pressure response to antihypertensive drugs may allow more individualized tailoring of antihypertensive drug therapy, and provide greater insight into the molecular mechanisms regulating blood pressure levels and causing hypertension.
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