A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine notes that combination therapy with the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor benazepril and the calcium-channel blocker amlodipine is better in preventing cardiovascular events than combination of benazepril and the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide.

The study involved more than 11,000 patients in the US, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland. They took either benazepril and amlodipine or benazepril and hydrochloro-thiazide, a type of diuretic (water pill). Both combinations were effective in more than 75 percent of patients, but those given the first combination had 20 percent fewer cardiovascular events than those taking the other combination pill. Cardiovascular events were defined as cardiovascular deaths, heart attacks, strokes, hospitalization for unstable angina, and treatment to reopen blocked heart arteries.

“The significant reduction in cardiovascular events we observed in patients will, I hope show physicians that earlier use of a combination medicine, especially with amlodipine, may be in the best interest of the patients,” study leader Dr. Kenneth Jamerson, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and a member of the U-M Cardiovascular Center, said.

High blood pressure is a serious condition that can lead to coronary heart disease, heart failure, stroke, kidney failure and other serious health problems. There are several risk factors that contribute to hypertension, such as smoking, alcohol use, excessive salt in diet, sedentary lifestyle, obesity and family history.

According to recent estimates, about one in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure, but because sometimes there are no symptoms, nearly one-third of these people are unaware they have it.