THE INTERNATIONAL NIFEDIPINE GITS STUDY OF INTERVENTION AS A GOAL IN HYPERTENSION TREATMENT (INSIGHT) TRIAL

Several trials have shown that antihypertensive drug treatment decreas es cardiovascular morbidity and mortality rates. They have also shown, however, that the risk is not decreased to the level of nonhypertensi ve patients. Trials are therefore underway to determine whether the be nefits achieved by older drugs, such as diuretics and beta blockers, c an be enhanced by using newer classes of antihypertensive agents, such as calcium antagonists, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor s, and angiotensin ii receptor antagonists. Among these trials, the In ternational Nifedipine GITS Study of Intervention as a Goal in Hyperte nsion Treatment (INSIGHT) is of special interest because it is the fir st study to address, in a prospective fashion, the prognostic influenc e of antihypertensive treatment (nifedipine GITS vs a combined thiazid e and potassium-sparing diuretic) in hypertensive patients with concom itant risk factors such as hypercholesterolemia, cigarette smoking, di abetes, and left ventricular hypertrophy. This article briefly describ es the rationale and design of the INSIGHT trial and cites the substud ies and the preliminary data available. (C) 1998 by Excerpta Medico, I nc.