The influence of antihypertensive treatment over the incidence of cerebral vascular disease.

Introduction The benefits of antihypertensive therapy in reducing the mortality from certain complications of hypertension are now well established. Improved prognosis in respect of the malignant phase was demonstrated by Morrison (1953) and quickly confirmed by Rosenheim (1954), Schroeder (1954) and McMichael & Murphy (1955). Simultaneously, Smirk (1953) showed an improved prognosis in respect of congestive cardiac failure amongst treated hypertensive patients. Although the benefits of treating non-malignant hypertension are less welldefined, all would now agree that treatment of hypertension in the young and middle-aged is effective in lowering the mortality rate (Hodge, McQueen & Smirk, 1961) and in the prevention of complications of hypertension, particularly stroke (Hamilton, Thompson & Wisniewski, 1964; Veterans Administration Co-operative Study Group, 1967). In this study we review the incidence of stroke and certain other vascular complications of hypertension amongst a group of treated hypertensive subjects, and correlate the findings with the quality of control of hypertension.