STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Sept. 4 (UPI) -- Strokes and heart attacks among those with high blood pressure could be cut by using blood pressure medication and reducing cholesterol, a Swedish study says.
The success of the treatment strategy has been shown for the first time in the largest study of high blood pressure treatment ever conducted in Europe -- the Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial, which was presented at the congress of the European Society of Cardiology. The findings are published in the Lancet.
ASCOT included more than 19,000 men and women with high blood pressure, who were at a moderate risk of strokes and heart attacks. To control their blood pressure, they received either the newer drugs -- a calcium antagonist, amlodipine and the ACE inhibitor -- or a traditional combination of a beta-blocker, atenolol and a diuretic.
Additionally, 10,000 patients were also treated with the cholesterol lowering drug atorvastatin or a placebo.
