Open AccessEfficacy and Safety of Calcium Channel Blocker/Diuretics Combination Therapy in Hypertensive Patients: A Meta‐Analysis
Author(s) -
Rimoldi Stefano F.,
Messerli Franz H.,
Chavez Patricia,
Stefanini Giulio G.,
Scherrer Urs
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the journal of clinical hypertension
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1751-7176
pISSN - 1524-6175
DOI - 10.1111/jch.12462
Subject(s) - medicine , calcium channel blocker , meta analysis , calcium
Although recent guidelines recommend the combination of calcium channel blockers ( CCB s) and thiazide (‐like) diuretics, this combination is not widely used in clinical practice. The aim of this meta‐analysis was to assess the efficacy and safety of this combination regarding the following endpoints: all‐cause and cardiovascular mortality, myocardial infarction, and stroke. Four studies with a total of 30,791 of patients met the inclusion criteria. The combination CCB /thiazide (‐like) diuretic was associated with a significant risk reduction for myocardial infarction (risk ratio [ RR ], 0.83; 95% confidence interval [ CI ], 0.73–0.95) and stroke ( RR , 0.77; CI , 0.64–0.92) compared with other combinations, whereas it was similarly effective compared with other combinations in reducing the risk of all‐cause ( RR , 0.89; CI , 0.75–1.06) and cardiovascular ( RR , 0.89; CI 0.71–1.10) mortality. Elderly patients with isolated systolic hypertension may particularly benefit from such a combination, since both drug classes have been shown to confer cerebrovascular protection.