Blood Pressure Combo Lowers Risk of Stroke
Sept. 27, 2001 -- Stroke is the No. 3 cause of death in the U.S. and leaves many more people severely disabled. But now doctors may have a way to prevent this crippling medical problem.
High blood pressure is one of the leading reasons that stroke affects so many people in the U.S. So doctors have been searching for ways to lower blood pressure and, at the same time, reduce the number of strokes.
Now it appears that they may have found just the right combination of medicines.
Researchers from over 170 offices all over the world looked at 6,100 people who had already had one stroke to determine which blood pressure drugs were best at lowering the chance of having another stroke.
One of the drugs that they used is Aceon. This is in a class of drugs called ACE inhibitors. Other commonly used ACE inhibitors include Accupril, Altace, Vasotec, and Zestril.
The second drug that they used is a water pill, or diuretic, known as Lozol and is available in the U.S.
Half of the people were given perindopril, and it was left up to the doctor to decide if Lozol was also needed. The other half took a placebo but no actual blood pressure medicine.
Although taking just one of the blood pressure medicines lowered the blood pressure slightly, it did not decrease the chance of having another stroke compared to the people taking just a placebo.
However, when both drugs were used together, the risk of having another stroke fell by 43% -- a comforting finding for both doctors and patients.
The study appears in the Sept. 29 issue of the medical journal The Lancet.
Currently, it is recommended that doctors use cheaper blood pressure medicine since the less expensive ones have been shown to be as effective at getting the blood pressure down as the newer, more pricey drugs, such as ACE inhibitors.
However, Jan Staessen, who wrote a commentary published with the study, says this raises the issue of whether people with high blood pressure should immediately be treated with more expensive drugs. Staessen is with the University of Leuven in Belgium.
Blood Pressure Combo Lowers Risk of Stroke
Sept. 27, 2001 -- Stroke is the No. 3 cause of death in the U.S. and leaves many more people severely disabled. But now doctors may have a way to prevent this crippling medical problem.
High blood pressure is one of the leading reasons that stroke affects so many people in the U.S. So doctors have been searching for ways to lower blood pressure and, at the same time, reduce the number of strokes.
Now it appears that they may have found just the right combination of medicines.
Researchers from over 170 offices all over the world looked at 6,100 people who had already had one stroke to determine which blood pressure drugs were best at lowering the chance of having another stroke.
One of the drugs that they used is Aceon. This is in a class of drugs called ACE inhibitors. Other commonly used ACE inhibitors include Accupril, Altace, Vasotec, and Zestril.
The second drug that they used is a water pill, or diuretic, known as Lozol and is available in the U.S.
Half of the people were given perindopril, and it was left up to the doctor to decide if Lozol was also needed. The other half took a placebo but no actual blood pressure medicine.
Although taking just one of the blood pressure medicines lowered the blood pressure slightly, it did not decrease the chance of having another stroke compared to the people taking just a placebo.
However, when both drugs were used together, the risk of having another stroke fell by 43% -- a comforting finding for both doctors and patients.
The study appears in the Sept. 29 issue of the medical journal The Lancet.
Currently, it is recommended that doctors use cheaper blood pressure medicine since the less expensive ones have been shown to be as effective at getting the blood pressure down as the newer, more pricey drugs, such as ACE inhibitors.
However, Jan Staessen, who wrote a commentary published with the study, says this raises the issue of whether people with high blood pressure should immediately be treated with more expensive drugs. Staessen is with the University of Leuven in Belgium.
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