Diuretic therapy for hypertension and the risk of primary cardiac arrest

The addition of potassium-sparing diuretics to thiazide diuretic therapy for the treatment of high blood pressure (hypertension) may lower the risk of sudden death from cardiac arrest. The records of 114 patients with hypertension who had cardiac arrest were compared with the records of 535 patients with hypertension. Patients receiving combined potassium-sparing and thiazide diuretic treatment had a lower risk of sudden death than those treated with just thiazide. However, potassium supplements combined with thiazide did not lower the risk of cardiac arrest. Low-dose thiazide therapy was associated with a lower risk of death than moderate-dose regimens.