article summary

Purpose or clinical question (s

The purpose of the study is to assess the controversy about the impact of various regimens on the incidence of myocardial infarction (MI other cardiovascular events and mortality . Furthermore the study compares the effects of treatment strategies based on Angiotensin- Converting Enzyme (ACE ) inhibitors and long-acting Calcium Channel Blockers (CCB ) on patients

Literature Review

The recent large Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT ) found that diuretics are equivalent to ACE inhibitors and CCBs in the prevention of coronary events Furthermore

, the trial suggests that diuretics are superior to ACE and CCBs in the protection against secondary cardiovascular endpoints

The results of the second Australian Blood pressure study point to the fact that ACE-inhibitor based regimen led to better results as opposed to diuretic based therapy- although both strategies lead to blood pressure reduction

Type of Design

The study used a survey of data (medical and pharmacy claims ) from a database of 8 million persons in the United States . Furthermore , the study used a survival-analysis approach to compare mortality between patients taking an ACE inhibitor and those taking a CCB

Sample type and size

The study selected patients (18 years and above ) who have filled a prescription for either an ACE inhibitor or a long-acting CCB between January 1 , 1995 , and June 30 , 1999 . Furthermore , the selected respondents must have received one or more diagnosis of hypertension at one or more medical encounters within the six...