Improving cardiovascular health outcomes through the use of evidence-based medicine.

The risk of cardiovascular (CV) and renal complications begins at a relatively low blood pressure (BP), and this risk is associated with such disorders as metabolic syndrome. When comparing older antihypertensive agents with newer agents, for the most part no significant differences have been seen in rates of CV events. However, rapidly controlling BP is critical to reduce event rates, particularly rates of stroke. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin-receptor blockers consistently decrease the rate of onset of type 2 diabetes.