Trusting The Proven Treatment for
Hypertension
October
10
High
blood pressure is one of the most prevalent risk factors for cardiovascular
disease, affecting as many as 800 million people worldwide. It is estimated
that at least 80 percent of people with high blood pressure may also have other
uncontrolled cardiovascular risk factors, with elevated cholesterol being the
most common.
Death from heart
disease ranks first as cause of death in the
Patients must be
cautioned that hypertension is a very serious problem and proper treatment
should not be ignored. Compliance to treatment is crucial to ensure that high
blood pressure is managed and to also avoid further heart complications which
could eventually lead to death. Most doctors agree that managing high blood
pressure is the most cost-effective means of avoiding heart disease and death.
Life is too precious to
be taken for granted, that is why patients should not settle for just any
medicine in treating hypertension. It is important to make sure that the
medicines the patients are taking are proven to be safe and effective to be
able to prevent complications of the illness. Getting the right medicine would
be much more cost-effective for a patient in the long run.
Dr. Francisco Tranquilino, a cardiologist and training officer at the
Philippine General Hospital says, “In managing patients, doctors also consider
the long-term effects and complications of a particular medicine on the
illness. It may be cost-effective to prescribe a cheaper counterpart drug, even
before its efficacy and safety is yet to be proven, but in the end, we may not
be able to prevent the complications of the illness if it worsens”.
For treatment of hypertension,
a patient should trust only proven safe and effective medicines which are
backed by numerous evidences from landmark trials.
In a five-year ASCOT
(Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial) study, patients who received the amlodipine besylate-based regimen
experienced significant reductions in cardiovascular death, all-cause mortality
and total cardiovascular events and procedures, including heart attacks and
strokes, as compared to patients who received a beta blocker–based regimen.
Patients receiving the amlodipine-based regimen also
experienced a reduction of fatal coronary heart disease and non-fatal heart
attack, which did not reach statistical significance.
Results from the
seven-year ALLHAT (Antihypertensive and Lipid Lowering Therapy to Prevent Heart
Attack Trial) study, which is the largest hypertension trial ever conducted,
involving over 42,000 patients showed, that its calcium channel blocker amlodipine besylate demonstrated
results comparable to a diuretic in the incidence of fatal coronary heart
disease, non-fatal heart attacks, strokes and death.
Amlodipine with maleate, camsylate or other salts are different from amlodipine besylate through a
change in salt composition. This is based on the declarations made by the
Bureau of Food and Drugs on November 30, 2004 and November 24, 2005.
As in all other
landmark trials using amlodipine, only amlodipine with the besylate salt
was used for ALLHAT,
Amlodipine besylate is a prescription
medicine. Patients are advised to seek medical advice before taking any
prescription medicine. In clinical trials, the most common side effects for amlodipine besylate versus
placebo were edema, headache, fatigue and dizziness.
This health information
is brought to you by Pfizer, a global, research-based healthcare company that
discovers, develops, manufactures and markets effective, innovative and safe
medicines for humans and animals, and many of the best-known consumer products.
Pfizer continues to develop safe and effective medicines that are products of
many years of research and development which therefore help reduce costly
hospitalizations, loss of productivity and disruptions in our daily lives.
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