Antihypertensive drugs used in the treatment of adults ( primary prevention ) with mild hypertension ( systolic BP 140 - 159 mmHg and /or diastolic BP 90 - 99 mmHg ) have not been shown to reduce mortality or morbidity in RCTs .
More RCTs are needed in this prevalent population to know whether the benefits of treatment exceed the harms
BACKGROUND People with no previous cardiovascular events or cardiovascular disease represent a primary prevention population .
The benefits and harms of treating mild hypertension in primary prevention patients are not known at present .
This review examines the existing r and omised controlled trial ( RCT ) evidence .
OBJECTIVES PRIMARY OBJECTIVE To quantify the effects of antihypertensive drug therapy on mortality and morbidity in adults with mild hypertension ( systolic blood pressure ( BP ) 140 - 159 mmHg and /or diastolic BP 90 - 99 mmHg ) and without cardiovascular disease .
Medical Research Council's Treatment Trial for mild hypertension: an interim report.
The pilot phase of the British multicentre r and omized controlled trial of treatment for mild hypertension has shown : ( 1 ) that unselected subjects , aged 35 - 64 years , with mild hypertension are willing to enter and remain in a long-term trial even though asymptomatic ; ( 2 ) that the differences of mean systolic and mean diastolic pressure achieved between treated and control subjects is sufficient to produce the expected difference in terminating events with the 18000 patients calculated as needed for the full-scale trial ; ( 3 ) that side effects with the two selected active primary regimens ( bendrofluazide and propranolol ) are common but mild ( no serious side effects or toxic reactions have been reported ) ; ( 4 ) that the work load imposed by the trial , though considerable during screening and the initiation of patients into the trial , can largely be taken by specially trained nursing staff , and when screening is completed the trial does not impose a heavy burden of follow-up examinations ; ( 5 ) that there are no adverse psychological effects caused by alerting asymptomatic people to their raised pressure and enrolling them into a prolonged programme of clinical attendance ; ( 6 ) that the total costs of carrying out a full-scale trial -- estimated at about lb.2 m ( $ U.S. 4m)--are commensurate with the potential annual savings in health service expenditure whether the trial shows treatment to be effective or unwarranted
Antihypertensive drugs used in the treatment of adults ( primary prevention ) with mild hypertension ( systolic BP 140 - 159 mmHg and /or diastolic BP 90 - 99 mmHg ) have not been shown to reduce mortality or morbidity in RCTs .
More RCTs are needed in this prevalent population to know whether the benefits of treatment exceed the harms
BACKGROUND People with no previous cardiovascular events or cardiovascular disease represent a primary prevention population .
The benefits and harms of treating mild hypertension in primary prevention patients are not known at present .
This review examines the existing r and omised controlled trial ( RCT ) evidence .
OBJECTIVES PRIMARY OBJECTIVE To quantify the effects of antihypertensive drug therapy on mortality and morbidity in adults with mild hypertension ( systolic blood pressure ( BP ) 140 - 159 mmHg and /or diastolic BP 90 - 99 mmHg ) and without cardiovascular disease .