Calcium channel blockers and alpha-blockers in hypertension: what is the evidence?

Hypertension is the commonest cardiovascular disorder encountered by medi­ cal practitioners in primary and secondary health care. Safety in the drug treatment of hypertension can only be seen in relation to efficacy, which has now come to mean not just blood pressure reduction, but improvements in endpoints, including mortality. Diuretics and beta-blockers are two classes of antihypertensive agents with clearly proven benefits in mortality and morbidity studies (1). Although there are ongoing studies, there are no published outcome trials measuring endpoints for most of the other antihypertensive agents currently in use.