Early blood pressure treatment may postpone true hy...( ATLANTA -- A new study offers intriguin...),Health

If confirmed, the concept may offer a chance to keep many people from facing the high risk of heart disease and stroke that currently confronts the 65 million Americans with hypertension. But for now, the researchers call it a "proof of principle" result and note that this is the first study to address the issue thoroughly.

The results come from a rigorous four-year study of 772 people with a condition called pre-hypertension, in which blood pressure is elevated over normal levels but not high enough to meet the criteria for a formal diagnosis of hypertension.

University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center researcher Stevo Julius, M.D., Sc.D., and colleagues will present the data today at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting and in a simultaneous paper in the New England Journal of Medicine.

For the first two years of the study, half the patients received a placebo and half received a blood pressure drug called candesartan. For the next two years, all participants received a placebo, allowing the researchers to detect any lasting effects from drug treatment. All participants received guidance on diet and exercise to control blood pressure, and all had regular blood pressure measurements at home and in clinic visits. The participants were randomized to their study group and the researchers were blinded as to which group participants were in.

Throughout the study, there was a significant difference between the two groups in the development of hypertension. By study's end, the participants who received the blood pressure drug for two years and then stopped had a 15.6 percent lower risk of developing hypertension relative to those who received placebo for four years. The researchers suspect the drug treatment interrupted blood-vessel processes that raise
'"/>

Contact: Kara Gavin
kegavin@umich.edu
734-764-2220
University of Michigan Health System
14-Mar-2006