News - Hypertension Week of August 10, 2003/ Vol. 2 No. 32

Patients with high blood pressure and left ventricular hypertrophy, but no signs of vascular disease, have fewer strokes when treated with an angiotensin II receptor-blocker drug instead of a beta-blocker, according to a report in the August 5th issue of Annals of Internal Medicine..

The researchers made this finding after studying 6,886 predominantly white patients and giving them either the angiotensin II receptor-blocker drug losartan or the beta-blocker atenolol.

During the five-year follow-up period, the researchers monitored the patients' blood pressure and routinely checked for complications such as heart attacks and strokes.

Losartan and atenolol were similar in their ability to lower and control blood pressure, even though most patients in both groups needed two to three drugs.

Although the number of heart attacks in both groups were nearly the same, fewer losartan patients had strokes and developed diabetes.

More patients in the atenolol group (10 percent) had drug-related side effects than patients in the losartan group (6 percent).

Other sources: Annals of Internal Medicine 2003;139:169-177