Results of a National Therapeutic Trial Conducted in 10 000 Hypertensive Patients by 2000 General Practitioners

1. 10 294 hypertensive patients were treated and followed by 2200 general practitioners under the supervision of 130 cardiologists and nephrologists.

2. The treatment groups, randomly allocated, were designated to use three distinct antihypertensive drugs, administered alone, and combined two-by-two.

3. Some 75% of patients had a supine diastolic blood pressure of less than 95 mmHg after 4 months treatment.

4. A total of 12% of patients had dropped out by 4 months from entry; no clear relationship was established between side effects and drop out.