There is no RCT evidence demonstrating that anti-hypertensive drugs reduce mortality or morbidity in patients with hypertensive emergencies .
Furthermore , there is insufficient RCT evidence to determine which drug or drug class is most effective in reducing mortality and morbidity .
There were some minor differences in the degree of blood pressure lowering when one class of antihypertensive drug is compared to another .
However , the clinical significance is unknown .
BACKGROUND Hypertensive emergencies , marked hypertension associated with acute end-organ damage , are life-threatening conditions .
Many anti-hypertensive drugs have been used in these clinical setting s. The benefits and harms of such treatment and the best first-line treatment are not known .
OBJECTIVES To answer the following two questions using r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ): 1 ) does anti-hypertensive drug therapy as compared to placebo or no treatment affect mortality and morbidity in patients presenting with a hypertensive emergency ?
2 ) Does one first-line antihypertensive drug class as compared to another antihypertensive drug class affect mortality and morbidity in these patients ?
Comparison of sublingual captopril and nifedipine in immediate treatment of hypertensive emergencies. A randomized, single-blind clinical trial.
Sublingual captopril ( 25 mg ) was compared with sublingual nifedipine ( 10 mg ) to determine their effectiveness and safety in the treatment of hypertensive emergencies . In nine of 10 patients who received sublingual captopril , mean ( + /- SD ) systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure dropped from 245 + /- 39 to 190 + /- 25 mm Hg ( P less than .0025 ) and from 144 + /- 8 to 115 + /- 8 mm Hg ( P less than .001 ) at 50 minutes , respectively . The hypotensive effect of the drug was maintained for a mean of 4 hours . In six of nine responders to sublingual captopril , blood pressure-lowering effect was associated with a clear improvement of end-organ failure within 60 minutes . There were no side effects , including a dangerous fall in blood pressure or reflex tachycardia . Sublingual nifedipine lowered diastolic blood pressure and systolic blood pressure in eight of 10 patients . The hypotensive effect of nifedipine was more rapid than that of captopril ( 10 vs 20 minutes for diastolic blood pressure and 20 vs 30 minutes for systolic blood pressure , respectively ) , but no difference was observed in the time or in the magnitude of peak hypotensive effect between the two treatments , nor was a difference observed in the duration of hypotensive effect . In six of eight responders to nifedipine therapy , a clear improvement of symptoms and signs of end-organ failure was observed within 60 minutes . In three patients , minor side effects were observed . We conclude that sublingual captopril effectively and safely lowers arterial blood pressure in patients with hypertensive emergencies
There is no RCT evidence demonstrating that anti-hypertensive drugs reduce mortality or morbidity in patients with hypertensive emergencies .
Furthermore , there is insufficient RCT evidence to determine which drug or drug class is most effective in reducing mortality and morbidity .
There were some minor differences in the degree of blood pressure lowering when one class of antihypertensive drug is compared to another .
However , the clinical significance is unknown .
BACKGROUND Hypertensive emergencies , marked hypertension associated with acute end-organ damage , are life-threatening conditions .
Many anti-hypertensive drugs have been used in these clinical setting s. The benefits and harms of such treatment and the best first-line treatment are not known .
OBJECTIVES To answer the following two questions using r and omized controlled trials ( RCTs ): 1 ) does anti-hypertensive drug therapy as compared to placebo or no treatment affect mortality and morbidity in patients presenting with a hypertensive emergency ?
2 ) Does one first-line antihypertensive drug class as compared to another antihypertensive drug class affect mortality and morbidity in these patients ?