Drug treatment of hypertension

Drug treatment of hypertension.

Drug treatment of hypertension.

High blood pressure is a risk factor which has been shown in well documented studies to be significantly associated with excess morbidity and mortality. For example, the Framingham study (Kannel, Wolf, Verter, and McNamara, 1970) showed an increased risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease in initially asymptomatic persons whose initial pressures were 160/90 mm Hg or greater. The wort...

Drug treatment for portal hypertension.

Pharmacological treatment of portal hypertension has played an increasing clinical role in the past 20 years. In the setting of acute variceal bleeding, drug therapy should be considered the initial treatment of choice and can be administered as soon as possible; even during the transfer of the patient to hospital. Several recent trials have reported similar efficacy to emergency sclerotherapy,...

Drug treatment of hypertension: implications of ALLHAT.

The presentation and publication of the primary results of the antihypertensive and lipid lowering treatment to prevent heart attack trial (ALLHAT) has generated much interest and opinion. This is because (1) ALLHAT is the largest ever study of antihypertensive therapy; (2) ALLHAT addressed the commercially sensitive issue of appropriate first line therapy for hypertension; and (3) the initial ...

Pioneer in Drug Treatment of Hypertension

Sir Horace Smirk deserves much of the credit for establishing the benefits of reducing blood pressure. He was one of the main early proponents of the idea that it was the raised intra-arterial pressure itself that caused many of the cardiac and vascular complications of hypertension. His training in both pharmacology and internal medicine enabled him to devise practical methods for successful t...