title: [The preliminary clinical evidence from the ELSA study. The European Lacidipine Study on Atherosclerosis].
abstract: Up to the present the relationship between arterial hypertension or its treatment and cardiovascular complications has been evaluated in terms of the incidence of events, such as fatal and nonfatal myocardial infarction or stroke and cardiac deaths. However, cardiovascular events are not the direct consequence of blood pressure elevation, which, on the contrary, is responsible for atherosclerotic disease. Quantitative ultrasonography is a sensitive, specific and reproducible technique which, in comparison to arteriography, is non invasive and less expensive. The availability of this technique has allowed us to do some studies, one just published, another in the elaboration phase and others ongoing, aimed at evaluating the effects of antihypertensive agents on carotid changes in hypertensive patients. The European Lacidipine Study on Atherosclerosis (ELSA) compares the effects of lacidipine, a calcium-antagonist and of atenolol, a beta-blocker, on blood pressure, on carotid vessel modifications, and on the incidence of cardiovascular events in patients with mild to moderate hypertension with a 4-year follow-up period. Preliminary results of the study, which were concerned with the demographic characteristics of the first 1000 randomized patients enrolled, indicate that 84% of the patients had a carotid plaque, 15% had thickening of the intima-media, and 1% had a normal vessel. These results are both surprising and significant in that they admonish the physician not to neglect patients with mild to moderate hypertension even when they have neither complications nor other risk factors.
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi di Milano.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Leonetti
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D001262:Atenolol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002340:Carotid Artery Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004095:Dihydropyridines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D004095:Dihydropyridines; C060285:lacidipine; D001262:Atenolol
vernacular_title: Evidenze cliniche preliminari dello studio ELSA.