Primary prevention of CVD: treating hypertension.
BACKGROUND
Hypertension (persistent diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg or higher and systolic blood pressure 140 mm Hg or higher) affects 20% of the world's adult population, and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, end stage renal disease, and retinopathy.


METHODS
We conducted a systematic review and aimed to answer the following clinical questions: What are the effects of different antihypertensive drugs for people with hypertension? What are the effects of dietary modification for people with hypertension? We searched: Medline, Embase, The Cochrane Library and other important databases up to March 2006 (Clinical Evidence reviews are updated periodically, please check our website for the most up-to-date version of this review). We included harms alerts from relevant organisations such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).


RESULTS
We found 17 systematic reviews, RCTs, or observational studies that met our inclusion criteria. We performed a GRADE evaluation of the quality of evidence for interventions.


CONCLUSIONS
In this systematic review we present information relating to the effectiveness and safety of the following interventions: a low-salt diet, antihypertensives, calcium supplements, fish-oil supplements, magnesium supplements, and potassium supplements.
Sheridan
Stacey
S
University of North Carolina, North Carolina, USA.
D006973:Hypertension; D011322:Primary Prevention; D014481:United States; D014486:United States Food and Drug Administration