Acetylsalicylic acid ( ASA ) did not reduce stroke or ' all cardiovascular events ' compared to placebo in primary prevention patients with elevated blood pressure and no prior cardiovascular disease .
Antiplatelet therapy with ASA for primary prevention in patients with elevated blood pressure provides a benefit , reduction in myocardial infa rct ion , which is negated by a harm of similar magnitude , increase in major haemorrhage .
The benefit of antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention in patients with elevated blood pressure is many times greater than the harm .
Benefit has not been demonstrated for warfarin therapy alone or in combination with aspirin in patients with elevated blood pressure .
BACKGROUND Elevated systemic blood pressure results in high intravascular pressure but the main complications , coronary heart disease ( CHD ) , ischaemic strokes and peripheral vascular disease ( PVD ) , are related to thrombosis rather than haemorrhage .
Some complications related to elevated blood pressure , heart failure or atrial fibrillation , are themselves associated with stroke and thromboembolism .
Therefore it is important to investigate if antithrombotic therapy may be useful in preventing thrombosis-related complications in patients with elevated blood pressure .
OBJECTIVES To conduct a systematic review of the role of antiplatelet therapy and anticoagulation in patients with high blood pressure , including those with elevations in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure , isolated elevations of either systolic or diastolic blood pressure , to address the following hypotheses : ( i ) antiplatelet agents reduce total deaths and /or major thrombotic events when compared to placebo or other active treatment ; and ( ii ) oral anticoagulants reduce total deaths and /or major thromboembolic events when compared to placebo or other active treatment .
Ticlopidine , clopidogrel and newer antiplatelet agents such as prasugrel and ticagrelor have not been sufficiently evaluated in patients with high blood pressure .
Alcohol consumption and risk of coronary heart disease by diabetes status.
BACKGROUND An inverse association between moderate alcohol consumption and  coronary heart disease ( CHD ) has been observed in several epidemiological studies . To assess whether a similar association exists among diabetics , we examined the relation between light to moderate alcohol consumption and CHD in men with and without diabetes mellitus in a prospect i ve cohort study . METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 87 938 US physicians ( 2790 with diagnosed diabetes mellitus ) who were invited to participate in the Physicians ' Health Study and were free of myocardial infa rct ion , stroke , cancer , or liver disease at baseline were followed for an average of 5.5 years for death with CHD as the underlying cause . During 480 876 person-years of follow-up , 850 deaths caused by CHD were documented : 717 deaths among nondiabetic men and 133 deaths among diabetic men . Among men without diabetes at baseline , the relative risk estimates for those reporting rarely/never , monthly , weekly , and daily alcohol consumption were 1.00 ( referent ) , 1.02 , 0 . 82 , and 0.61 ( 95 % CI 0.49 to 0.78 ; P for trend < 0.0001 ) after adjustment for age , aspirin use , smoking , physical activity , body mass index , and history of angina , hypertension , and high cholesterol . Among men with diabetes at baseline , the relative risk estimates were 1.00 ( referent ) , 1.11 , 0.67 , and 0.42 ( 95 % CI 0.23 to 0.77 ; P for trend=0.0019 ) . CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that light to moderate alcohol consumption is associated with similar risk reductions in CHD among diabetic and nondiabetic men
Acetylsalicylic acid ( ASA ) did not reduce stroke or ' all cardiovascular events ' compared to placebo in primary prevention patients with elevated blood pressure and no prior cardiovascular disease .
Antiplatelet therapy with ASA for primary prevention in patients with elevated blood pressure provides a benefit , reduction in myocardial infa rct ion , which is negated by a harm of similar magnitude , increase in major haemorrhage .
The benefit of antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention in patients with elevated blood pressure is many times greater than the harm .
Benefit has not been demonstrated for warfarin therapy alone or in combination with aspirin in patients with elevated blood pressure .
BACKGROUND Elevated systemic blood pressure results in high intravascular pressure but the main complications , coronary heart disease ( CHD ) , ischaemic strokes and peripheral vascular disease ( PVD ) , are related to thrombosis rather than haemorrhage .
Some complications related to elevated blood pressure , heart failure or atrial fibrillation , are themselves associated with stroke and thromboembolism .
Therefore it is important to investigate if antithrombotic therapy may be useful in preventing thrombosis-related complications in patients with elevated blood pressure .
OBJECTIVES To conduct a systematic review of the role of antiplatelet therapy and anticoagulation in patients with high blood pressure , including those with elevations in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure , isolated elevations of either systolic or diastolic blood pressure , to address the following hypotheses : ( i ) antiplatelet agents reduce total deaths and /or major thrombotic events when compared to placebo or other active treatment ; and ( ii ) oral anticoagulants reduce total deaths and /or major thromboembolic events when compared to placebo or other active treatment .
Ticlopidine , clopidogrel and newer antiplatelet agents such as prasugrel and ticagrelor have not been sufficiently evaluated in patients with high blood pressure .