Charles E. Ford

TL;DR: Thiazide-type diuretics are superior in preventing 1 or more major forms of CVD and are less expensive and should be preferred for first-step antihypertensive therapy.

TL;DR: Elevations of blood pressure are a strong independent risk factor for end-stage renal disease; interventions to prevent the disease need to emphasize the prevention and control of both high-normal and high blood pressure.

TL;DR: Blood pressure control rates for hypertension fall far short of the US national goal of 50% or more, but achievable control rates in varied practice settings and geographic regions are not well identified.

TL;DR: The slightly lower rate of development of hypercreatininemia and the higher rate of improvement in stepped-care compared with referred-care participants is consistent with the belief that aggressive treatment of hypertension may reduce renal damage and the associated increased risk of death.

TL;DR: The Antihypertensive and Lipid Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT), a randomized, double-blind trial in 40,000 high-risk hypertensive patients, is designed to determine whether the combined incidence of fatal coronary heart disease (CHD) and nonfatal myocardial infarction differs between persons randomized to diuretic treatment and each of three alternative treatments.