Blood Pressure Drug May Increase Risk of Death
Blood Pressure Drug May Increase Risk of Death
March 15, 2000 (Anaheim, Calif.) -- A class of drugs used to treat high blood pressure has again been linked to an increased risk of death, and that risk may be especially great among African-Americans, who are prescribed these drugs because they are so much more effective than other blood pressure medicines.
Doctors have known for several years that the drugs, called calcium channel blockers, have been linked to an increased risk of sudden death in several studies. But the drugs in those older studies were short-acting, quick-release formulations, and many researchers thought the risk could be eliminated by switching to long-acting varieties of the drugs. But two new studies presented here Wednesday at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology suggest that any formulation of these drugs may be risky.
Andreas Pittaras, MD, a cardiology fellow at Georgetown University Medical Center, tells WebMD that his study of 812 African-Americans is the largest study of these drugs in black patients. In particular, he says that nifedipine (Procardia and Adalat), in either short-acting or long-acting formulations, is "a killer." According to Pittaras, it increased the risk of heart attack or sudden death more than four times. He says that the risk is somewhat lower for some other, similar drugs; and one calcium channel blocker, called Norvasc (amlodipine), neither decreases nor increases risk of death.
Because some patients don't respond to other available drugs to lower blood pressure, it may be necessary to use a calcium channel blocker. In that case, Pittaras says it would be best to use the drug with another type of blood pressure drug called a beta-blocker. Patients in the study who were given both a beta-blocker and a calcium channel blocker did not have an increased risk of death.
A second study from the Glasgow Blood Pressure Clinic in Scotland underscores this link between the calcium channel blockers and death. Lead researcher Gordon T. McInnes, MD, senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow, tells WebMD that his work suggests that the drugs increase the risk of death from heart disease by 70% and death from any cause by 35%.
Blood Pressure Drug May Increase Risk of Death
March 15, 2000 (Anaheim, Calif.) -- A class of drugs used to treat high blood pressure has again been linked to an increased risk of death, and that risk may be especially great among African-Americans, who are prescribed these drugs because they are so much more effective than other blood pressure medicines.
Doctors have known for several years that the drugs, called calcium channel blockers, have been linked to an increased risk of sudden death in several studies. But the drugs in those older studies were short-acting, quick-release formulations, and many researchers thought the risk could be eliminated by switching to long-acting varieties of the drugs. But two new studies presented here Wednesday at a meeting of the American College of Cardiology suggest that any formulation of these drugs may be risky.
Andreas Pittaras, MD, a cardiology fellow at Georgetown University Medical Center, tells WebMD that his study of 812 African-Americans is the largest study of these drugs in black patients. In particular, he says that nifedipine (Procardia and Adalat), in either short-acting or long-acting formulations, is "a killer." According to Pittaras, it increased the risk of heart attack or sudden death more than four times. He says that the risk is somewhat lower for some other, similar drugs; and one calcium channel blocker, called Norvasc (amlodipine), neither decreases nor increases risk of death.
Because some patients don't respond to other available drugs to lower blood pressure, it may be necessary to use a calcium channel blocker. In that case, Pittaras says it would be best to use the drug with another type of blood pressure drug called a beta-blocker. Patients in the study who were given both a beta-blocker and a calcium channel blocker did not have an increased risk of death.
A second study from the Glasgow Blood Pressure Clinic in Scotland underscores this link between the calcium channel blockers and death. Lead researcher Gordon T. McInnes, MD, senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow, tells WebMD that his work suggests that the drugs increase the risk of death from heart disease by 70% and death from any cause by 35%.