CURRENT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INITIAL THERAPY IN HYPERTENSION - ARE THEY STILL VALID - INTRODUCTION

This symposium will address questions regarding current recommendation s for initial therapy in the management of hypertension: Are we treati ng too many hypertensive patients or too few? When do we start treatme nt with medications and what medications should we use? Professor Lawr ence Ramsay from England will discuss the concept of absolute versus r elative risk and review the long-term hypertension treatment trials an d what they have and have not told us. Dr. Michael Weber of New York w ill discuss some newer data on angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor s, angiotensin II receptor antagonists, and calcium channel blockers a nd attempt to answer the question: are these data sufficient to warran t recommending these agents as initial therapy? Finally, Dr. Henry Bla ck of Chicago and I will update a new-old concept: is it time to consi der low-dose fixed combination therapy as initial treatment in hyperte nsion? (C) 1998 American Journal of Hypertension, Ltd.