Analysis of mortality and survival in actively treated hypertensive disease

Abstract

The material on which this analysis is based comprises about 1,000 hypertensive patients who were admitted to hospital and were below the age of 66 when first submitted to active antihypertensive treatment between September 1st, 1950, and December 31st, 1960. The treatment was essentially a combination regimen, and the use of a single drug, such as reserpine or a saluretic, was considered as active treatment only in the few instances in which the blood pressure could be brought down to normal levels in this way, making the addition of a second drug unnecessary. Treatment was also regarded as active if any of the drugs were used in such conditions as advanced uraemia, malignant hypertension, or acute massive cerebrovascular lesions with very high diastolic blood-pressure levels. In other words, all patients except those who were moribund upon admission to hospital have been included in the series.