(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
This article has been cited by other articles:
 |
|
 |
|
  B. L. Carter Antihypertensive Prescribing: Do We Have Reason to Celebrate? Hypertension, November 1, 2006; 48(5): 816 - 817. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
F. H.H. Leenen, C. E. Nwachuku, H. R. Black, W. C. Cushman, B. R. Davis, L. M. Simpson, M. H. Alderman, S. A. Atlas, J. N. Basile, A. B. Cuyjet, et al. Clinical Events in High-Risk Hypertensive Patients Randomly Assigned to Calcium Channel Blocker Versus Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor in the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial Hypertension, September 1, 2006; 48(3): 374 - 384. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. L. Taylor, J. T. Wright Jr, R. S. Cooper, B. M. Psaty, A. L. Taylor, J. T. Wright Jr, R. S. Cooper, and B. M. Psaty Importance of Race/Ethnicity in Clinical Trials: Lessons From the African-American Heart Failure Trial (A-HeFT), the African-American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK), and the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) Circulation, December 6, 2005; 112(23): 3654 - 3666. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
D. K. Arnett, B. R. Davis, C. E. Ford, E. Boerwinkle, C. Leiendecker-Foster, M. B. Miller, H. Black, and J. H. Eckfeldt Pharmacogenetic Association of the Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Insertion/Deletion Polymorphism on Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Risk in Relation to Antihypertensive Treatment: The Genetics of Hypertension-Associated Treatment (GenHAT) Study Circulation, June 28, 2005; 111(25): 3374 - 3383. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. T. Wright Jr, J. K. Dunn, J. A. Cutler, B. R. Davis, W. C. Cushman, C. E. Ford, L. J. Haywood, F. H. H. Leenen, K. L. Margolis, V. Papademetriou, et al. Outcomes in Hypertensive Black and Nonblack Patients Treated With Chlorthalidone, Amlodipine, and Lisinopril JAMA, April 6, 2005; 293(13): 1595 - 1608. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. D. Neaton and L. H. Kuller Diuretics Are Color Blind JAMA, April 6, 2005; 293(13): 1663 - 1666. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 L. M. Brewster, G. A. van Montfrans, and J. Kleijnen Systematic Review: Antihypertensive Drug Therapy in Black Patients Ann Intern Med, October 19, 2004; 141(8): 614 - 627. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Rahman, C. D. Brown, J. Coresh, B. R. Davis, J. H. Eckfeldt, N. Kopyt, A. S. Levey, C. Nwachuku, S. Pressel, E. Reisin, et al. The Prevalence of Reduced Glomerular Filtration Rate in Older Hypertensive Patients and Its Association With Cardiovascular Disease: A Report From the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial Arch Intern Med, May 10, 2004; 164(9): 969 - 976. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. R. Tunis, D. B. Stryer, and C. M. Clancy Practical Clinical Trials: Increasing the Value of Clinical Research for Decision Making in Clinical and Health Policy JAMA, September 24, 2003; 290(12): 1624 - 1632. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
Diuretic Versus {alpha}-Blocker as First-Step Antihypertensive Therapy: Final Results From the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) Hypertension, September 1, 2003; 42(3): 239 - 246. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 T. E Strandberg, K. Pitkala, S. Berglind, M. S Nieminen, and R. S Tilvis Possibilities of multifactorial cardiovascular disease prevention in patients aged 75 and older: a randomized controlled trial: Drugs and Evidence Based Medicine in the Elderly (DEBATE) Study Eur. Heart J., July 1, 2003; 24(13): 1216 - 1222. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. H. Parker A Review of Cardiovascular Disease and Treatment Differences in Women Journal of Pharmacy Practice, June 1, 2003; 16(3): 157 - 163. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
S. Oparil Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT): Practical Implications Hypertension, May 1, 2003; 41(5): 1006 - 1009. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
The ALLHAT Officers and Coordinators for the ALLHA Major Outcomes in High-Risk Hypertensive Patients Randomized to Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor or Calcium Channel Blocker vs Diuretic: The Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) JAMA, December 18, 2002; 288(23): 2981 - 2997. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J.-J. Mourad, J. Blacher, P. Blin, and U. Warzocha Conventional Antihypertensive Drug Therapy Does Not Prevent the Increase of Pulse Pressure With Age Hypertension, October 1, 2001; 38(4): 958 - 961. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Epstein and H. R. Black Arterial Calcification and Calcium Antagonists : What Does It Mean? Hypertension, June 1, 2001; 37(6): 1414 - 1415. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. J Bulpitt Review: The management of the elderly with hypertension Journal of Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System, March 1, 2001; 2(1): 11 - 13. [PDF]
|
|