Abstract 14373: Efficacy and Safety of Antihypertensive Drug Classes: The Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT)

Purpose: To assess the efficacy and safety of antihypertensive drug classes, including angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers (ACEi/ARB), beta blockers (BB), calcium channel blockers (CCB), and thiazide diuretics (TD), in subjects at high cardiovascular (CV) risk. Methods: SPRINT was a randomized, controlled, open-label trial in which individuals without diabetes aged ≥50 years, at high CV risk, and with a systolic blood pressure (SBP) 130-180 mmHg were randomized to intensive (SBP target Results: Of 9361 participants, baseline use of antihypertensive agents was as follows: ACEi/ARB in 1317 (14%), BB in 911 (10%), CCB in 796 (9%), and TD in 979 (10%). A total of 1366 (15%) subjects did not have a record of being on an antihypertensive drug at baseline. In the intensive BP control group, use of a BB-based regimen at baseline was associated with a significantly higher risk of the primary outcome when compared with no medications ( Figure ). Similar patterns were observed for secondary efficacy endpoints. The risk of serious adverse events tended to be lower in patients receiving a treatment regimen containing either an ACEi/ARB or a TD compared with those receiving a regimen containing a BB or a CCB ( Figure ). Conclusions: In SPRINT, the risk of adverse events was lowest in patients who were not on an antihypertensive drug at baseline. ACEi/ARB-based and TD-based regimens appeared to have the best balance between efficacy and safety.