Comparison of blood pressure drugs rules against beta blockers

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Beta blockers should not be the first treatment choice for high blood pressure, according to a new review.
There are many drugs which can be used to treat high blood pressure. So which one should your doctor choose? Researchers from Cameroon have produced a review of blood pressure drugs for the Cochrane Collaboration, an international collaboration which assesses medical treatments. This compares beta blockers, commonly used to treat high blood pressure, head-to-head with other drugs. After comparing 13 studies, covering over 91,000 patients, the researchers found no overall difference in death or heart disease among those on beta blockers, diuretics or a group of drugs called RAS inhibitors.

However, the absolute risk of death was a half per cent greater among those on beta blockers compared to those on calcium channel blockers. Also, those on beta blockers had 1.3 per cent more chance of developing heart disease compared to those on calcium channel blockers. Moreover, those on beta blockers were more likely to abandon their medication because of side effects compared to those on RAS inhibitors or diuretics. These findings add to a recent review that suggests that beta blockers and diuretics may increase the chance of a patient developing type 2 diabetes. Clearly, beta blockers should not be the first choice for treating high blood pressure, although they will still be the best drugs for some patients.

Source
The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2007 Issue 1