Diuretics best for blood pressure

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A comparison shows that diuretics reduce negative outcomes from high blood pressure in both black and white people.
High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart disease, kidney disease and stroke. There are several medications which can reduce blood pressure. Now a team at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, reports on a comparison between a calcium channel blocker (CCB), an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and a diuretic.

The study which included over 33,000 individuals with high blood pressure - of whom 35 per cent were black - ran from 1994 to 2002. The investigators found that the CCB and ACE were not superior to the diuretic, which proved to be better at reducing the incidence of heart failure. It is particularly encouraging that diuretics work so well in black people, for this group generally has a worse outcome than white people when it comes to high blood pressure.

Source
Journal of the American Medical Association 6th April 2005 Volume 293 pages 1595-1608