Table 1. Characteristics of individuals starting a drug or increasing the dose for each drug class.

CCB= calcium channel blocker alone; RASi=renin-angiotensin system inhibitor, with or without a diuretic; Diuretic=diuretic alone. Frequencies (%) are given, compared by chi-squared tests, means by ANOVA. AF = atrial fibrillation; BMI = body mass index; TSH = thyroid stimulating hormone; CCB = calcium channel blocker; RASi = renin-angiotensin system inhibitor; D = diuretic.

	CCB (n=131)	RASi (n=55)	Diuretic (n=47)	RASi +D (n=50)	p-value
Male	55 (42)	27 (49)	21 (45)	21 (42)	0.83
Hypertension	84 (64)	31 (56)	27 (57)	28 (56)	0.64
Family History	31 (24)	18 (33)	9 (19)	14 (28)	0.41
Hyperlipidaemia	56 (43)	21 (38)	17 (36)	20 (40)	0.86
Diabetes	23 (18)	9 (16)	3 (6)	9 (18)	0.30
Heart Failure	11 (8)	5 (9)	2 (4)	2 (4)	0.59
AF	18 (14)	2 (4)	8 (17)	6 (12)	0.16
Smoker	19 (15)	6 (11)	10 (21)	7 (14)	0.52
Stroke vs TIA	76 (58)	32 (58)	24 (51)	26 (52)	0.75
Myocardial Infarction	3 (2)	1 (2)	4 (9)	3 (6)	0.19
Age	69.8	69.7	68.6	69.1	0.96
BMI	27.4	27.8	28.3	27.2	0.70
Creatinine	92.2	93.3	83.3	94.2	0.12
Cholesterol	5.1	5.4	5.3	5.1	0.59
TSH	2.3	2.2	2.1	2.2	0.96