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Angiotensin System Blockade Combined With Calcium Channel Blockers Is Superior to Other Combinations in Cardiovascular Protection With Similar Blood Pressure Reduction: A Meta-Analysis in 20,451 Hypertensive Patients.
Chi, C, Tai, C, Bai, B, Yu, S, Karamanou, M, Wang, J, Protogerou, A, Blacher, J, Safar, ME, Zhang, Y, et al
Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.). 2016;(8):801-8
Abstract
The authors aimed to investigate the superiority of angiotensin system blockade (angiotensin-converting enzyme [ACE] inhibitor/angiotensin receptor blocker [ARB]) plus a calcium channel blocker (CCB) (A+C) over other combination therapies in antihypertensive treatment. A meta-analysis in 20,451 hypertensive patients from eight randomized controlled trials was conducted to compare the A+C treatment with other combination therapies in terms of blood pressure (BP) reduction, clinical outcomes, and adverse events. The results showed that BP reduction did not differ significantly among the A+C therapy and other combination therapies in systolic and diastolic BP (P=.87 and P=.56, respectively). However, A+C therapy, compared with other combination therapies, achieved a significantly lower incidence of cardiovascular composite endpoints, including cardiovascular mortality, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and nonfatal stroke (risk ratio [RR], 0.80; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.70-0.91; P<.001), but similar all-cause mortality (RR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.77-1.04; P=.15) and stroke rates (RR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.77-1.04; P=.09). Moreover, A+C therapy yielded a 4.21 mL/min/1.73 m(2) lower estimated glomerular filtration rate reduction than other combinations (P<.001). Finally, A+C therapy showed a similar incidence of adverse events as other combination therapies (P=.34) but presented a significantly lower incidence of serious adverse events (RR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.73-0.98; P=.03). In conclusion, A+C therapy is superior to other combinations of antihypertensive treatment as it shows a lower incidence of cardiovascular events and adverse events, while it has similar effects in lowering BP and preserving renal function.