CardioExchange Archive

May 21st, 2013

European Medicines Agency Starts Review of Combined Use of Drugs that Block the Renin-Angiotensin System

Larry Husten, PHD

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said last week that it was initiating a review of the combined use of agents that block the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). The three classes of RAS-blocking drugs (ACE inhibitors, ARBs, and direct renin inhibitors) are used to treat hypertension and congestive heart failure. The EMA said that the review was being performed to […]

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August 6th, 2012

Hydrochlorothiazide and Nifedipine Linked to Increased Risk for Lip Cancer

Larry Husten, PHD

The antihypertensive drugs hydrochlorothiazide and nifedipine have been linked to a significantly increased risk for lip cancer in a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. The link is plausible, write the authors, since the drugs are known to be photosensitizing. Using a large cohort from the Kaiser Permanente system, researchers at Kaiser Permanente […]

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January 14th, 2011

Combination Therapy Beats Single Therapy As Initial Antihypertensive Therapy

Larry Husten, PHD

In the ACCELERATE (Aliskiren and the calcium channel blocker amlopdipine combination as an initial treatment strategy for hypertension control) trial, more than 1200 patients with early essential hypertension were randomized to either aliskiren, amlodipine, or the combination of the two drugs for 4 months. The results, which have been published online in the Lancet, showed […]

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November 29th, 2010

Study Finds No Link Between Cancer and Antihypertensives, Except for ARB-ACE Inhibitor Combo

Larry Husten, PHD

A new meta-analysis has found no evidence of a large cancer risk for most common antihypertensive agents, but did find strong evidence, largely based on one trial, for at least a 10% increase in cancer risk with the rarely used angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARB) combination. In a paper in the Lancet Oncology, […]

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