Diuretics and Sudden Cardiac Death

Bernhard R. Winkelmann

doi:10.7326/0003-4819-125-4-199608150-00028

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Letters |15 August 1996

Diuretics and Sudden Cardiac Death

Bernhard R. Winkelmann, MD

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TO THE EDITOR:

According to the 1992 Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure, β-blockers and diuretics are the preferred drugs for treating hypertension [1]. Hoes and colleagues [2] challenge that view and report that the use of non-potassium-sparing diuretics and β-blockers is associated with increased risk for sudden death [2]. Although the authors also came to the former conclusion in a review of published studies on non-potassium-sparing diuretics [3], the latter finding is unexpected.

In a recent overview, Kendall and colleagues [4] concluded that none of the available therapies is more effective than β-blockers in preventing sudden cardiac death [4]. Although the design of this case–control study (which investigated all sudden deaths in residents of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, who received drug therapy for hypertension compared with surviving age- and sex-matched controls who received such therapy) is straightforward, the presentation of the data needs further clarification.

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Letters |15 August 1996

Diuretics and Sudden Cardiac Death

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Letters |15 August 1996

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