Figure 2.

Risk ratios for mortality as a result of cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease in patients treated for hypertension compared with gender- and age-matched hypertensive and normotensive subjects (Derived from Benetos et al 2003).

Benetos et al (2003) used data from 8893 treated hypertensive patients and 25,880 untreated age- and gender-matched normotensive and hypertensive control patients to determine the influence of hypertension on cardiovascular mortality. Cardiovascular and coronary mortality were two-fold higher in the treated population. After adjustment for systolic blood pressure (SBP) using Cox regression analysis, the differences between the treated and untreated populations decreased from 96% to 14% (cardiovascular mortality, P = 0.05) and from 99% to 16% (coronary heart disease mortality, p = 0.08). Subsequent adjustment for diastolic blood pressure (DBP) had no further effect on the risk ratios.