(Hypertension. 2001;37:19.)
© 2001 American Heart Association, Inc.
Scientific Contributions |
Baseline Characteristics of Participants in the Antihypertensive and Lipid Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT)
From the Berman Center for Outcomes and Clinical Research and Hennepin County Medical Center (R.H.G., K.L.M.), Minneapolis, Minn; Veterans Affairs Medical Center (V.P.), Washington, DC; Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center (W.C.C.), Memphis, Tenn; University of Texas-Houston (C.E.F., J.B., C.M.H.), School of Public Health, Houston; Albert Einstein College of Medicine (M.H.A.), Bronx, NY; Veterans Affairs Medical Center (J.N.B.), Charleston, SC; Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center (H.R.B.), Chicago, Ill; Los Angeles County/University of Southern California Medical Center and White Memorial Medical Center (V.D.), Los Angeles; University of Minnesota Hospital and Clinic (J.E.), Minneapolis; Veterans Affairs Medical Center (H.M.P.), St. Louis, Mo; and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (M.P.), Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications, Bethesda, Md.
Correspondence to Richard H. Grimm, Jr, MD, PhD, Director, Berman Center for Outcomes and Clinical Research, Hennepin County Medical Center-865B, 701 Park Ave South, Minneapolis, MN 55415.
Abstract—Diuretics and
ß-blockers have been shown to reduce the risk of
cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in people with
hypertension in long-term clinical trials. No study has compared newer
more costly antihypertensive agents (calcium antagonists,
ACE inhibitors, and 
-adrenergic blockers) with
diuretics for reducing the incidence of
cardiovascular disease in an ethnically diverse group
of middle-aged and elderly hypertensive patients. The study is a
randomized, double-blind, active-controlled clinical trial designed to
determine whether the incidence of the primary outcome, fatal
coronary heart disease or nonfatal myocardial infarction,
differs between treatment initiation with a diuretic versus
each of 3 other antihypertensive drugs. Men and women aged 
55 years
with at least 1 other cardiovascular disease risk
factor were randomly assigned to chlorthalidone (12.5 to 25 mg/d),
amlodipine (2.5 to 10 mg/d), lisinopril (10 to 40 mg/d), or
doxazosin (2 to 8 mg/d) for planned follow-up of 4 to 8 years. This
report describes the baseline characteristics of the Antihypertensive
and Lipid Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT)
participants. A total of 42 448 participants were randomized from 625
sites in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin
Islands. The mean age was 67 years, with 35% aged 70 years. Among
those randomized, 36% were black, 19% were Hispanic, and 47% were
women. The sample includes a high proportion of people with diabetes
(36%), patients with existing cardiovascular disease
(47%), and smokers (22%). There were no important differences between
the randomized treatment groups at baseline. ALLHAT will add greatly to
our understanding of the management of hypertension by providing an
answer to the following question: are newer antihypertensive agents
similar, superior, or inferior to traditional treatment
with diuretics?
Key Words: hypertension, essential • antihypertensive agents • diuretics • clinical trials • lipids
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