[A prospective study on the effect of nifedipine of the cardiovascular complications in the elderly hypertensives].
The purpose of this single-blind, placebo-controlled trial was to assess whether long-term treatment with nifedipine can have a beneficial preventive effect on the cardiovascular complications in the elderly hypertensives. Randomization took place in 11 clinical centers between July 1987 and June 1988, and involved 1,666 patients, 60-70 years of age. 912 participants were assigned to nifedipine (N group) and 754 to placebo (P group). Follow-up time for each participant was taken as the time from randomization to either the study events or June 1990, with an average of 30 months (27-36 months). The results showed that the cumulative rates for all cardiovascular study events in the N group were significantly lower than that in the P group at 18 months (chi 2 = 5.278, P < 0.05), and the cumulative rates for stroke in the N group was significantly decreased at 24 months (chi 2 = 4.612, P < 0.05), at 27 months, 16.00% and 36.91% (chi 2 = 5.080, P < 0.05), respectively for the N and the P groups. The incidence of stroke in the N group was decreased by 57% within 2.5 years, but cardiac events were not significantly lowered (14%, P > 0.05) in comparison with the P group. The benefits of treatment in the trial seemed to depend on age at entry and were more obvious in male than in female patients.
D000368:Aged; D000787:Angina Pectoris / Q000517:prevention & control; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000517:prevention & control; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009543:Nifedipine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016037:Single-Blind Method
D009543:Nifedipine