F Turnbull

Dr F Turnbull, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; fturnbull@george.org.au

QUESTION

Are different classes of drugs to lower blood pressure (BP) similarly effective for preventing major cardiovascular events in younger (<65 y) and older (⩾65 y) patients?

REVIEW SCOPE

Included studies compared drugs that lower BP with placebo, a less-intensive BP-lowering regimen, or a different class of BP-lowering drug. Primary outcome was major cardiovascular event (fatal or non-fatal stroke, myocardial infarction, or heart failure).

REVIEW METHODS

In a prespecifed protocol, the review was to include ongoing or planned randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that had ⩾1000 patient-years of planned follow-up per group and no results presented before July 1995 (date of protocol finalisation). Of 37 eligible trials, individual patient data were provided for 25 RCTs …