| New Blood Pressure Treatment Guidelines are on the | | | | 1997. Researchers from Imperial College in London |
| way. | | | | said that precise figures on the effectiveness of this |
| Hypertension treatment recommendations may be | | | | new combination would not be available until full |
| about to change as a result of a new large study | | | | results of the study have been analysed. They aim |
| called the ASCOT TRIAL. This study may well lead | | | | to publish a paper in a medical journal called The |
| to big changes in the way that BP medications are | | | | Lancet later in 2005. |
| used by your doctor. | | | | The ASCOT study also originally looked at drugs for |
| The 'Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial' | | | | cholesterol treatment. This lipid lowering arm of the |
| (ASCOT) compared two drugs in combination | | | | study (ASCOT-LLA) was also stopped prematurely in |
| (amlodipine plus perindopril) with another two similar | | | | October 2002 after it showed that most patients |
| but slightly more old fashioned drugs (atenolol plus | | | | benefited from taking atorvastatin whether or not |
| bendroflumethiazide). | | | | they had high cholesterol. |
| The study has been stopped nearly five years early | | | | Only time will tell how important these results are but |
| because patients taking the former combination were | | | | it looks as if this study will trigger major changes in |
| found to be much less likely to experience an MI or | | | | how we look at the choice of treatments. In the |
| stroke than those on the latter treatment. | | | | meantime - you should consult with your doctor if |
| The study looked at 19000 patients and started in | | | | you have any concerns. |