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Review: From Hypertension to Heart Failure — Are There Better Primary Prevention Strategies?Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Division of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences, University of Glasgow, Western Infirmary, Glasgow, G11 6NT, Scotland, UK, pam1v{at}clinmed.gla.ac.uk
Department of Medicine, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, 171 76 Stockholm, Sweden Although in the developed world the incidence of and mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke have been declining over the last 15 years, heart failure is increasing in incidence, prevalence and overall mortality, despite advances in the diagnosis and management of the condition. Hypertension, alone or in combination with CHD, precedes the development of heart failure in the majority of both men and women. Whilst there have been improvements in the overall management of hypertension, as reflected in rates of diagnosis, awareness, treatment and control of blood pressure (BP), there are still many patients with hypertension who remain undiagnosed or untreated and of those who do receive treatment many fail to achieve current targets for BP control. Placebo controlled trials in hypertension, largely based on diuretic and beta-blocker-based regimens, have unequivocally demonstrated that the treatment of hypertension can significantly reduce the incidence of heart failure. Newer treatment strategies offer theoretical and proven practical advantages over established antihypertensive therapy. In particular, AT1-receptor blockers appear to provide benefits beyond BP control and are effective in the treatment of both hypertension and heart failure. Thus, the primary prevention of heart failure in hypertensive patients should be based upon strategies that provide tight and sustained BP control necessitating the use of multiple drugs. However, there is now compelling evidence to suggest that this therapy should include an antihypertensive agent that inhibits the reninangiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS).
Key Words: Heart failure • Hypertension • Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system • AT1-receptor blockers • Atrial fibrillation • New-onset diabetes
Journal of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System, Vol. 7, No. 2,
64-73 (2006) This article has been cited by other articles:
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