AUSTRALIA: Blood pressure drugs prolong life, study shows

SYDNEY (Sydney Morning Herald), March 31, 2008: Drugs used to lower blood pressure can cut the death rate from stokes in the elderly by almost 40 per cent, an international study has found. Around 4,000 people in several countries, including Australia, were surveyed over two years for the survey which found for the first time that treating blood pressure in elderly patients could give them a new lease of life. "The issue of the elderly is obviously becoming more important as the population ages and blood pressure does rise with age in our society," said Melbourne-based Professor Stephen Harrap, president of the High Blood Pressure Research Council of Australia. "There has been a tendency to think perhaps it's part of growing old and we shouldn't be as aggressive in treating it in an 80-year-old as in someone who is aged 40. "But what this study shows is you should - and the benefits are in terms of lives saved in this particular study." Prof Harrap said that every year, more than 53,000 Australians suffered strokes, more than half of them over 75. And more than 75 per cent of those elderly Australians suffered from high blood pressure, which was a major contributor to fatal heart attacks and stokes. But until now, the medical profession had been reluctant to treat high blood pressure in the elderly for fear of causing complications. But thiazide-like diuretics, which work on the kidneys, used in conjunction with ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme) inhibitors, had produced a dramatic 39 per cent increase in the survival rate following strokes, he said. The blood pressure lowering treatment also cut the overall death rate by more than 20 per cent. "The thiazide-like diuretics are particularly good in the elderly," Prof Harrap said. "As we get older, our kidneys aren't as good at getting rid of salt from the body and when we eat our routine diets we tend to build up a bit of salt and that can put your blood pressure up." Stroke and heart attacks accounted for around one third of all deaths in Australia and elderly people with high blood pressure should not just accept the condition as part of the ageing process, Prof Harrap said. "Doctors would be more inclined to treat with this information, so that's a win-win," he said. The results of the global study were revealed at the American College of Cardiology conference in Chicago. The results have also been accepted for publication in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine. The study had been scheduled to run for five years with half the participants receiving the blood pressure lowering medication and half a placebo. But the huge improvement in life expectancy in those receiving the treatment prompted the researchers to terminate the trial early and extend treatment to all participants. "Those people who were not receiving the treatment were dying more frequently and it was unethical to continue," Prof Harrap said. © 2008 AAP