High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is a common health condition that affects many people worldwide. It can increase the risk of heart disease and other cardiovascular problems.
Hypertension
Hypertension is a condition characterized by high pressure of blood in your vessels. World Health Organization defines it as a blood pressure of 140/90 mmHg or higher. An estimated 1.28 billion adults aged 30-79 years worldwide have hypertension and about 46% of adults with hypertension are unaware that they have the condition. Hypertension is a major cause of adverse cardiovascular events such as heart attack, and stroke and can cause premature death. There are several pharmacologic remedies available for the management of hypertension.
Clinical Trial
A clinical trial has compared two commonly prescribed medications for hypertension: chlorthalidone and hydrochlorothiazide in preventing adverse cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients. This article aims to explain the results of the study in simple terms, helping you understand which medication may be more effective in treating high blood pressure.
The trial involved 13,523 participants with hypertension, who were already taking hydrochlorothiazide. These patients were divided into two groups. One group continued to take hydrochlorothiazide while the other group switched to chlorthalidone.
The researchers then observed and analyzed the occurrence of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack, stroke, heart failure, urgent coronary revascularization for unstable angina, and non-cancer-related death among the participants over a certain period of time.
Results
The clinical trial found that chlorthalidone and hydrochlorothiazide were equally effective in reducing hypertension-related adverse cardiovascular events. The adverse cardiovascular events occurred in 702 patients [10.4%] of the chlorthalidone group and 675 patients [10.0%] of the hydrochlorothiazide group. These findings suggest that both medications were equally effective in reducing these cardiovascular side effects.