What are the health outcomes associated with different antihypertensive therapies?
A network meta-analysis of randomized trials conducted by Psaty et al. (2003) found that the health outcomes associated with different antihypertensive therapies are dependent on a variety of factors, such as the type of hypertension, age, and sex. ACE inhibitors were found to reduce the risk of stroke in elderly patients with isolated systolic hypertension (Wang et al., 2000). The Medical Research Council trial of treatment of hypertension in older adults (MRC Working Party, 1992) found that calcium antagonists were effective in reducing the risk of death from all causes in hypertensive patients over the age of 80. The Blood Pressure Lowering Treatment Trialists Collaboration (2000, 2008) found that there was no significant difference between men and women in response to blood pressure-lowering treatment. Finally, the Cochrane Database Syst Rev. (2000) found that pharmacotherapy for hypertension in women of different races was effective in reducing the risk of cardiovascular events.  