Heart beat: Water pills carry the day
Heart beat
Water pills carry the day
Diuretics, often called water pills, are one of the oldest and least expensive treatments for high blood pressure. And they remain one of the best.
Once brushed aside by newer medications, diuretics were thrust back into the spotlight by a blockbuster clinical trial known as ALLHAT. Chlorthalidone, a thiazide diuretic, was at least as good as a calcium-channel blocker (amlodipine) and an ACE inhibitor (lisinopril) at lowering blood pressure and reducing the risk for heart attack and heart-related death, and was better at preventing heart failure.
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