Antihypertensive choice impacts CV risk: SPRINT analysis

Selection of drug class may be as important as blood pressure lowering itself in protecting patients with hypertension from cardiovascular events, a study suggests

Prolonged use of thiazide diuretics or renin-angiotensin system blockers confer additional cardioprotective effects beyond blood pressure-lowering in patients at elevated risk of cardiac events, a study shows.

Conversely, exposure to beta-blockers for 12 months or longer appears to be associated with a greater likelihood of cardiovascular-related death, MI and stroke, the US researchers say.