ACE Inhibitors vs Diuretics for Hypertension in the Elderly
Wing and colleagues compared the effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors with the effect of diuretics in 6083 patients with hypertension who were between the ages of 65 and 84 years.
They concluded that the medications were equally valuable in lowering blood pressure (26/12 mm Hg). Overall, there were 56.1 deaths or cardiovascular events per 1000 patient-years in the group taking ACE inhibitors and 59.8 deaths or cardiovascular events per 1000 patient-years in the group taking diuretics (P = .05). This small difference in outcome was observed more often in men than in women.
The difference in outcome is small, and other factors will undoubtedly play a role in determining which treatment approach to use.
Wing and colleagues compared the effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors with the effect of diuretics in 6083 patients with hypertension who were between the ages of 65 and 84 years.
They concluded that the medications were equally valuable in lowering blood pressure (26/12 mm Hg). Overall, there were 56.1 deaths or cardiovascular events per 1000 patient-years in the group taking ACE inhibitors and 59.8 deaths or cardiovascular events per 1000 patient-years in the group taking diuretics (P = .05). This small difference in outcome was observed more often in men than in women.
The difference in outcome is small, and other factors will undoubtedly play a role in determining which treatment approach to use.
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