Drugs prescribed to lower blood pressure may be saving lives by playing a role in preventing stroke, a major trial has suggested.
The Ascot project, launched in 1997, was originally envisaged as a 10-year study into whether new drugs prescribed to tackle blood pressure are more effective than older ones. In an unexpected twist however, new drugs such as statins were found to also attack cholesterol thereby halving the risk not only of heart attack, but also stroke.
Patients with high blood pressure who took statins were 36% less likely to suffer a heart attack and 27% less likely to have a stroke compared to those on older medications. Similarly, patients taking other new drugs such as calcium channel blockers and ACE inhibitors saw a 25% reduction in strokes and a 15% decrease in heart attacks, compared to those on older drugs.
The results were so significant that the British and Scandinavian researchers abandoned the trial in December 2004 since the findings were so conclusive. Experts are now pushing for healthcare bodies such as the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) to review the trial and change prescribing practices accordingly.
"NICE guidelines are not usually considered for updating until four years after publication," said Professor Peter Littlejohns from NICE. "However in this case we feel it is appropriate to look at this data and see whether any revision might be made." NICE confirmed that the process would take up to six months.
