Management of the hypertensive patient: a continuing dilemma

Pharmacotherapy for hypertension in adults 60 years or older

BACKGROUND

This is the second substantive update of this review. It was originally published in 1998 and was previously updated in 2009. Elevated blood pressure (known as 'hypertension') increases with age - most rapidly over age 60. Systolic hypertension is more strongly associated with cardiovascular disease than is diastolic hypertension, and it occurs more commonly in older people. It is important to know the benefits and harms of antihypertensive treatment for hypertension in this age group, as well as separately for people 60 to 79 years old and people 80 years or older.

OBJECTIVES

Primary objective• To quantify the effects of antihypertensive drug treatment as compared with placebo or no treatment on all-cause mortality in people 60 years and older with mild to moderate systolic or diastolic hypertensionSecondary objectives• To quantify the effects of antihypertensive drug treatment as compared with placebo or no treatment on cardiovascular-specific morbidity and mortality in people 60 years and older with mild to moderate systolic or diastolic hypertension• To quantify the rate of withdrawal due to adverse effects of antihypertensive drug treatment as compared with placebo or no treatment in people 60 years and older with mild to moderate systolic or diastolic hypertension SEARCH METHODS: The Cochrane Hypertension Information Specialist searched the following databases for randomised controlled trials up to 24 November 2017: the Cochrane Hypertension Specialised Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE Ovid (from 1946), Embase (from 1974), the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, and ClinicalTrials.gov. We contacted authors of relevant papers regarding further published and unpublished work.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials of at least one year's duration comparing antihypertensive drug therapy versus placebo or no treatment and providing morbidity and mortality data for adult patients (≥ 60 years old) with hypertension defined as blood pressure greater than 140/90 mmHg.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Outcomes assessed were all-cause mortality; cardiovascular morbidity and mortality; cerebrovascular morbidity and mortality; coronary heart disease morbidity and mortality; and withdrawal due to adverse effects. We modified the definition of cardiovascular mortality and morbidity to exclude transient ischaemic attacks when possible.

MAIN RESULTS

This update includes one additional trial (MRC-TMH 1985). Sixteen trials (N = 26,795) in healthy ambulatory adults 60 years or older (mean age 73.4 years) from western industrialised countries with moderate to severe systolic and/or diastolic hypertension (average 182/95 mmHg) met the inclusion criteria. Most of these trials evaluated first-line thiazide diuretic therapy for a mean treatment duration of 3.8 years.Antihypertensive drug treatment reduced all-cause mortality (high-certainty evidence; 11% with control vs 10.0% with treatment; risk ratio (RR) 0.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.85 to 0.97; cardiovascular morbidity and mortality (moderate-certainty evidence; 13.6% with control vs 9.8% with treatment; RR 0.72, 95% CI 0.68 to 0.77; cerebrovascular mortality and morbidity (moderate-certainty evidence; 5.2% with control vs 3.4% with treatment; RR 0.66, 95% CI 0.59 to 0.74; and coronary heart disease mortality and morbidity (moderate-certainty evidence; 4.8% with control vs 3.7% with treatment; RR 0.78, 95% CI 0.69 to 0.88. Withdrawals due to adverse effects were increased with treatment (low-certainty evidence; 5.4% with control vs 15.7% with treatment; RR 2.91, 95% CI 2.56 to 3.30. In the three trials restricted to persons with isolated systolic hypertension, reported benefits were similar.This comprehensive systematic review provides additional evidence that the reduction in mortality observed was due mostly to reduction in the 60- to 79-year-old patient subgroup (high-certainty evidence; RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.79 to 0.95). Although cardiovascular mortality and morbidity was significantly reduced in both subgroups 60 to 79 years old (moderate-certainty evidence; RR 0.71, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.77) and 80 years or older (moderate-certainty evidence; RR 0.75, 95% CI 0.65 to 0.87), the magnitude of absolute risk reduction was probably higher among 60- to 79-year-old patients (3.8% vs 2.9%). The reduction in cardiovascular mortality and morbidity was primarily due to a reduction in cerebrovascular mortality and morbidity.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Treating healthy adults 60 years or older with moderate to severe systolic and/or diastolic hypertension with antihypertensive drug therapy reduced all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, cerebrovascular mortality and morbidity, and coronary heart disease mortality and morbidity. Most evidence of benefit pertains to a primary prevention population using a thiazide as first-line treatment.

Pharmacotherapy for hypertension in the elderly

BACKGROUND

Elevated blood pressure (known as hypertension) increases with age, and most rapidly over age 60. Systolic hypertension is more strongly associated with cardiovascular disease than diastolic hypertension, and occurs more commonly in older people. It is important to know the benefits and harms of antihypertensive treatment of hypertension in this age group.

OBJECTIVES

To quantify antihypertensive drug effect on overall mortality, cardiovascular mortality and morbidity and withdrawal due to adverse effects in people 60 years and older with mild to moderate systolic or diastolic hypertension.

SEARCH STRATEGY

Updated search of electronic database of EMBASE, CENTRAL, MEDLINE until Dec 2008; previous search of two Japanese databases (1973-1995) and WHO-ISH Collaboration register (August 1997); references from reviews, trials and previously published meta-analyses; and experts.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomized controlled trials of at least one year duration in hypertensive elders (at least 60 years old) comparing antihypertensive drug therapy with placebo or no treatment and providing morbidity and mortality data.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Outcomes assessed were total mortality (including cardiovascular, coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular mortality); total cardiovascular morbidity and mortality (representing combined coronary heart disease and cerebrovascular morbidity and mortality); and withdrawal due to adverse events.

MAIN RESULTS

Fifteen trials (24,055 subjects >/= 60 years) with moderate to severe hypertension were identified. These trials mostly evaluated first-line thiazide diuretic therapy for a mean duration of treatment of 4.5 years. Treatment reduced total mortality, RR 0.90 (0.84, 0.97); event rates per 1000 participants reduced from 116 to 104. Treatment also reduced total cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, RR 0.72 (0.68, 0.77); event rates per 1000 participants reduced from 149 to 106. In the three trials restricted to persons with isolated systolic hypertension the benefit was similar. In very elderly patients >/= 80 years the reduction in total cardiovascular mortality and morbidity was similar RR 0.75 [0.65, 0.87] however, there was no reduction in total mortality, RR 1.01 [0.90, 1.13]. Withdrawals due to adverse effects were increased with treatment, RR 1.71 [1.45, 2.00].

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

Treating healthy persons (60 years or older) with moderate to severe systolic and/or diastolic hypertension reduces all cause mortality and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. The decrease in all cause mortality was limited to persons 60 to 80 years of age.

Pharmacotherapy for hypertension in the elderly

OBJECTIVES

To quantify the long-term effects of antihypertensive drug therapy on morbidity and mortality in the elderly. To characterize co morbid risk profiles of trial participants.

SEARCH STRATEGY

Electronic search of WHO-ISH Collaboration register (August 1997), The Cochrane Library (1997; Issue 1), MEDLINE (1966 to April 1997) and two Japanese databases (1973-1995); references from reviews, trials and 10 previously published meta-analyses; and experts.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomized controlled trials of at least one year duration in hypertensive elders (at least 60 years old) assessing antihypertensive drug therapy and providing morbidity and mortality data.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

At least two independent reviewers abstracted data on morbidity and mortality results and trial characteristics. The following outcomes were assessed: total mortality; coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality; combined CHD morbidity and mortality; cerebrovascular mortality; combined cerebrovascular morbidity and mortality; cardiovascular mortality; combined cardiovascular morbidity and mortality; and drop outs due to side effects of treatment.

MAIN RESULTS

Fifteen trials including 21,908 elderly subjects were identified. The average prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors, cardiovascular disease, and competing co morbid diseases was lower among trial participants than the general population of hypertensive elderly persons. Most subjects were 60 to 80 years old. Most trials were conducted in Western, industrialized countries and evaluated diuretic and beta-blocker therapies. Event rates per 1000 participants over approximately 5 years indicated that antihypertensive drug therapy was beneficial. Cardiovascular morbidity and mortality was reduced from 177 to 126 events (95% CI of the difference 31 to 73). Cardiovascular mortality was reduced from 69 to 50 deaths (95% CI of the difference 9 to 31). Total mortality was reduced from 129 to 111 deaths (95% CI of difference 4 to 28). The data from the three trials restricted to persons with isolated systolic hypertension indicated a significant benefit: cardiovascular morbidity and mortality over approximately 5 years was reduced from 157 to 104 events per 1000 participants (95% CI of the difference 12 to 89). Numbers of participants who dropped out of trials secondary to adverse drug effects were often not reported. The four trials that did report this data showed a wide variation in drop out rates ranging from no significant differences between treatment and control groups to as many as one out of four patients dropping out due to side effects of treatment.

REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS

Randomized controlled trials establish that treating healthy older persons with hypertension is highly efficacious. Benefits of treatment with low dose diuretics or beta-blockers are clear for persons in their 60s to 70s with either diastolic or systolic hypertension. Differential treatment effects based on patient risk factors, pre-existing cardiovascular disease and competing co-morbidities could not be established from the published trial data.

Point of view: why hypertension is overdiagnosed and overtreated in 1987

1. The decision whether arterial blood pressure (BP) is elevated or normal is usually based on inadequate data: few readings in the presence of great variability of BP; levels higher in the presence of the doctor; and diastolic BP often higher sitting and standing than lying. 2. Assessments of response and of the need for increases in drug dosage are also based on insufficient data. 3. Increased morbidity and mortality from stroke and heart attack, and incomplete correction with treatment have been interpreted as suggesting further benefit from aggressive reduction of BP to 'normal' in all patients. 4. The emergence of powerful drugs with few side-effects, and the promise of lowering office BP to 'normal' as monotherapy, has removed the hesitation to treat 'mild' hypertension. 5. Attempts to lower sitting office diastolic BP to 'normal' have led to increasing drug dosage, dose-related, drug-specific side-effects, and lethargy due to hypotension. 6. Newer self-measurement BP units can be used easily by most patients, cost less than five visits to the doctor and provide a cheap method of obtaining sufficient data on which to base informed management decisions. Supported by normal echocardiographic left ventricular mass, normal 'home BP' (including lying diastolic) permits many mild hypertensives to remain off medications. 7. Non-drug therapy avoids or reduces long-term drug therapy, with its side-effects.

Are some hypertensive patients overtreated? A prospective study of ambulatory blood pressure recording

Ambulatory blood pressure (BP) was recorded in hypertensive patients whose physicians had been asked to reduce diastolic pressure measured in the office to 90 mm Hg or less. 34 hypertensive patients with a diastolic pressure measured by their physician of 95 mm Hg or more despite antihypertensive therapy had their treatment changed with the aim of achieving this pre-set goal within 3 months. At the beginning and the end of the study, ambulatory BP was monitored during the daytime with a portable non-invasive recorder. The results of the ambulatory recordings were not made available to the physicians until completion of the study. In half the patients the ambulatory diastolic pressure was already 90 mm Hg or less at the start. In these patients, treatment adjustment did not further decrease ambulatory BP. In contrast, patients who initially had an ambulatory diastolic pressure above 90 mm Hg had a significantly decreased ambulatory BP at the end of the study. Intensifying the therapy of hypertensive patients who have a normal ambulatory BP may result in overtreatment without any real gain in BP control.

Management of hypertension in high school students by using new salt titrator tape

In a blood pressure screening program involving 6589 high school students, 180 male (4.7%) and 17 female (0.6%) students were identified as borderline hypertensive. The 174 hypertensive male adolescents studied further showed pathophysiological features such as a significantly higher frequency of obesity, higher 24-hour urinary sodium excretion, higher hematocrit value, higher sodium and lower potassium concentration in red blood cells, and higher ouabain-sensitive sodium efflux compared with the control group (231 male students; p less than 0.05). When used alone, the ordinary 10-week period of counseling about a low salt diet failed to significantly reduce the blood pressure of hypertensive students. However, when education and counseling efforts were combined with self-monitoring of salt (chloride) excretion in overnight urine samples using a new salt titrator tape developed in our laboratory, 24-hour urinary sodium excretion, weight, and blood pressure decreased significantly over 10 weeks (mean reduction: 52 mEq/day for 24-hour urinary sodium excretion, 1.7 kg for weight, 12/7 mm Hg for blood pressure). These results indicate that blood pressure of borderline hypertensive adolescents could be effectively reduced with this nonpharmacological method of dietary education. Such systematic management might be of importance for the prevention of essential hypertension.

24-hour blood pressure differences in hypertension and normotension in bed-confined subjects

This study investigates whether the degree of hypertension may be evaluated by information derived from the 24-h blood pressure (BP) curve unrelated to the pressure height. We performed 24-h BP intra-arterial monitoring in 52 bed-confined subjects (10 normotensives, 10 borderlines, and 32 hypertensives on WHO criteria). Computer analysis of 1152 BP values per subject per 24-h revealed the following: During the night hours, the percentage of the 1152 systolic BP values greater than or equal to 160 (in mmHg) increased (or did not change if 100%) in all subjects with mean 24-h systolic BP (24-h BP) greater than 170 and it decreased (or did not change if 0%) in all subjects with 24-h BP less than 150. The change in the percentage of the 1152 diastolic BP values greater than or equal to 95 during the night hours did not correlate to either the mean 24-h diastolic or systolic BP. The higher the mean 24-h systolic BP, the lower the skewness of the distribution of the 1152 systolic BP values (p less than 0.01). No such correlation existed between the skewness of the distribution of the 1152 diastolic BP values and either the mean 24-h diastolic or systolic BP. It is concluded that both the change in systolic BP during the night hours and the skewness of its distribution during the 24-h monitoring period are correlated to the severity of hypertension.

Initial antihypertensive therapy. Comparison of prazosin and hydrochlorothiazide

Increasing awareness of the hazards of diuretic therapy has cast doubt on the appropriateness of its uniform use as initial treatment for hypertension. To establish the relative efficacy and acceptability of alternative forms of initial therapy, prazosin and hydrochlorothiazide were prospectively compared. In a one-year study, 62 patients with a diastolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 100 mm Hg were randomly allocated to receive one of the two agents. Twenty of 32 (63 percent) patients receiving prazosin and 17 of 30 (57 percent) receiving hydrochlorothiazide satisfied the year-long study requirements. For the most part, the dropout rate was not drug related. The percentages of subjects completing the study with the initial drug, without addition of a second drug, were identical in both groups (prazosin: 10 of 32 [31 percent] and hydrochlorothiazide: nine of 30 [30 percent]). In both treatment groups, blood pressure declined similarly and significantly (p less than 0.001) by the end of the study. The blood pressure of subjects receiving prazosin decreased from 150.3/105.8 mm Hg to 135.3/90.3 mm Hg, whereas the blood pressure of subjects receiving hydrochlorothiazide declined from 147.3/103.8 to 130.0/89.1 mm Hg. A reduction in diastolic blood pressure to less than 95 mm Hg was achieved in 80.0 percent of patients started with prazosin and in 78.6 percent of those started with hydrochlorothiazide. A further reduction to less than 90 mm Hg was achieved in 45.0 and 64.3 percent, respectively (not significant). Patients who completed the study with single-drug therapy in both treatment groups showed nonsignificant decreases in mean potassium levels from initial to final readings when compared with baseline readings (prazosin: 0.21 meq; hydrochlorothiazide: 0.41 meq). However, patients receiving prazosin had 11.5 percent of their readings less than or equal to 4.0 meq, whereas those receiving hydrochlorothiazide had 38.1 percent of their readings similarly distributed (p less than 0.05). Furthermore, four patients receiving hydrochlorothiazide had potassium levels less than or equal to 3.5 meq; none of those receiving prazosin had levels in that range. At baseline, no patient in the study had potassium levels of less than 4.0 meq. Prazosin-treated patients whose initial fasting blood glucose was less than 110 mg/dl had 3.7 percent (one of 27) of subsequent measurements greater than or equal to 110 mg/dl. These abnormal levels were found 18.2 percent (six of 33) (not significant) of the time in similar hydrochlorothiazide-treated subjects. Symptomatic side effects were primarily mild and transient in those receiving either drug alone.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

MRC trial of treatment of mild hypertension: principal results. Medical Research Council Working Party

The main aim of the trial was to determine whether drug treatment of mild hypertension (phase V diastolic pressure 90-109 mm Hg) reduced the rates of stroke, of death due to hypertension, and of coronary events in men and women aged 35-64 years. Subsidiary aims were: to compare the course of blood pressure in two groups, one taking bendrofluazide and one taking propranolol, and to compare the incidence of suspected adverse reactions to these two drugs. The study was single blind and based almost entirely in general practices; 17 354 patients were recruited, and 85 572 patient years of observation have accrued. Patients were randomly allocated at entry to take bendrofluazide or propranolol or placebo tablets. The primary results were as follows. The stroke rate was reduced on active treatment: 60 strokes occurred in the treated group and 109 in the placebo group, giving rates of 1.4 and 2.6 per 1000 patient years of observation respectively (p less than 0.01 on sequential analysis). Treatment made no difference, however, to the overall rates of coronary events: 222 events occurred on active treatment and 234 in the placebo group (5.2 and 5.5 per 1000 patient years respectively). The incidence of all cardiovascular events was reduced on active treatment: 286 events occurred in the treated group and 352 in the placebo group, giving rates of 6.7 and 8.2 per 1000 patient years respectively (p less than 0.05 on sequential analysis). For mortality from all causes treatment made no difference to the rates. There were 248 deaths in the treated group and 253 in the placebo group (rates 5.8 and 5.9 per 1000 patient years respectively). Several post hoc analyses of subgroup results were also performed but they require very cautious interpretation. The all cause mortality was reduced in men on active treatment (157 deaths versus 181 in the placebo group; 7.1 and 8.2 per 1000 patient years respectively) but increased in women on active treatment (91 deaths versus 72; 4.4 and 3.5 per 1000 patient years respectively). The difference between the sexes in their response to treatment was significant (p = 0.05). Comparison of the two active drugs showed that the reduction in stroke rate on bendrofluazide was greater than that on propranolol (p = 0.002). The stroke rate was reduced in both smokers and non-smokers taking bendrofluazide but only in non-smokers taking propranolol. This difference between the responses to the two drugs was significant (p = 0.03).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Diuretic therapy for mild hypertension: the "real" cost of treatment

The benefit of any medical intervention, particularly drug therapy, must be weighed against its cost. These costs are not only dollar expenditures but effects on lifestyle and overall health. Diuretic therapy for hypertension has been in use long enough to allow long-term clinical evaluation. It is clear from the numerous prospective drug intervention trials involving hypertensive patients that diuretic therapy is not free of "costs." Aside from the fact that 15 to 20% of diuretic-treated patients reportedly drop out of trials because of side effects, including exertional dyspnea, fatigability, lethargy and impotence, numerous metabolic derangements have been reported with these drugs, i.e., potassium, uric acid, lipid, sodium, glucose and magnesium alterations. Perhaps most important are the changes in lipid fractions, which may be responsible for the failure of antihypertensive therapy to decrease the risk of coronary heart disease. Thus, although diuretics are somewhat less expensive than other antihypertensive drugs in terms of dollars, their overall costs are high. The major alternatives, such as the alpha-blocker prazosin or the central nervous system agent clonidine, are preferable, do not impair a patient's lifestyle and are recommended to be used along with changes in diet and an exercise program for control of mild to moderate hypertension.

Reduction of cardiovascular disease events by worksite hypertension treatment

A retrospective cohort study of hypertensive employees to evaluate the impact of worksite antihypertensive treatment (WST) on cardiovascular disease (CVD) over 8 1/2 years is reported. In a union-sponsored screening from August 1973 to February 1974, 604 hypertensives (greater than or equal to 160 and/or 95 mm Hg, or on medication) were identified. Of these, standardized criteria were met by 344, of whom 150 chose WST and 194 referred care (RC). The study groups were similar in age and sex composition. Union hospitalization and death records through 1982 revealed that CVD rates were fewer in WST than RC (3.0 vs 5.4/100 person-years; p less than 0.01). By contrast, nonCVD rates were similar (8.1 vs 9.6). All-cause mortality rate in WST (0.89) was significantly (p less than 0.05) lower than that in RC (1.81), as was the standard mortality ratio (55.1), based on U.S. mortality in 1978. CVD mortality was also lower (0.48 vs 1.10; NS). Persons with an initial blood pressure (BP) less than 160/95 mm Hg had CVD event rates that were low and similar in WST and RC (3.6 vs 3.5). However, among those with elevated BP at entry, WST subjects fared significantly better than RC (2.8 vs 6.1; p less than 0.001). Furthermore, in WST, previously treated patients with elevated BP at screening experienced one-third the CVD morbidity of their counterparts in RC (3.1 vs 10.8; p less than 0.01). These results extend previous evidence that WST is an effective method to achieve BP control and demonstrate that this approach to the management of hypertension alters health outcomes favorably and significantly.

Ventricular extrasystoles during thiazide treatment: substudy of MRC mild hypertension trial

One short term and one long term study of the relation between ventricular extrasystoles and thiazide treatment were carried out during the Medical Research Council's mild hypertension trial. In the short term study 110 patients were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups, bendrofluazide with or without potassium supplements, or placebo. They were studied before starting treatment and nine to 10 weeks later while still taking their randomly assigned drugs. No significant increase in the number of ventricular extrasystoles was associated with short term thiazide treatment, although serum potassium concentrations changed as expected. In the long term study 214 patients who had completed an average of two years' treatment with randomly assigned bendrofluazide or a placebo were studied while continuing to take their trial tablets; the 214 included 20 people who had been randomised at entry to the bendrofluazide group and who had a subsequent history of hypokalaemia. These 20 patients were studied before and after being further randomised to two groups, one continuing treatment without change and one continuing with bendrofluazide and also taking potassium supplements. Counts of ventricular extrasystoles were significantly higher (p = 0.025) in those receiving long term thiazide treatment than in their controls; however, there was no significant association between the number of ventricular extrasystoles and serum potassium concentrations in this group, although the correlation between number of extrasystoles and serum urate concentrations was significant (p = 0.035). Pooled data for both studies showed a highly significant correlation between number of ventricular extrasystoles, and serum potassium concentrations (r = -0.185; p = 0.003), but the correlation with serum urate concentrations was of similar strength (r = 0.178; p = 0.004). These biochemical changes may be acting merely as markers of thiazide intake, and the explanation of the association between thiazide treatment and ventricular extrasystolic activity therefore remains uncertain.

Ouabain-binding and 86rubidium-uptake in lymphocytes of normal and borderline hypertensive subjects

In borderline hypertensives cellular sodium concentration seems to be increased, indicating that cellular abnormalities are present in the early course of essential hypertension. In order to study the mechanisms underlying this finding the number of sodium/potassium pump sites and the cation pump activity were studied in lymphocytes of nine borderline hypertensives (27 (20-36) years) and nine controls (28 (20-36) years). Maximum 3H-ouabain binding and 86Rb-uptake were taken as measures of the number of pump sites and cation pump activity, respectively. The median number of sodium/potassium pump sites was 49.6 X 10(3) molecules/cell in the BH group compared to 32.4 X 10(3) in the control group (P less than 0.01). Median 90 min 86Rb-uptakes were 54.0 pmol/10(6) cells in BH subjects and 39.4 in controls (P less than 0.10). The increased number of sodium/potassium pump sites and the tendency to increased cation pump activity in lymphocytes of BH subjects in vitro may be interpreted as an adaptive change possibly induced by a circulating natriuretic substance.

New approaches to the therapy of mild hypertension

Concern about the initial use of diuretic agents under the stepped-care approach to the treatment of hypertension has been voiced before. Recently, however, the level of concern has risen as the results of various trials have questioned the safety of these agents in mild hypertension. Diuretic-induced hypokalemia has been reported in 10 to 30% of patients on long-term treatment. Recent studies show that hypokalemia may lead to previously unsuspected and potentially fatal arrhythmias, particularly after infarction. Increases in plasma cholesterol of 10 to 20 mg/dl may occur with diuretic therapy. Diuretics are also known to decrease glucose tolerance. Beta-adrenergic blocking drugs, although useful in many situations, are contraindicated in about 25% of the hypertensive population. These agents may also pose a long-term atherogenic risk because of their adverse effect on lipid and glucose metabolism. If all these effects have the potential to increase the risk of coronary heart disease over the long term, then first-line administration of diuretic therapy and, to a lesser extent, beta-blocking therapy, to the 25 to 30 million Americans with diastolic pressure in the 90 to 100 mm Hg range must obviously be reassessed. Various alternative therapies, including withholding drugs for 6 months in patients with diastolic pressure of 90 to 100 mm Hg, using hygienic measures in patients not otherwise at high risk, and using other drugs such as the alpha 1-adrenergic inhibitor prazosin for initial therapy are discussed and evaluated.