Are beta blockers effective first-line treatments for hypertension?

摘要

To reduce rates of stroke and coronary heart disease, the Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) recommends reducing blood pressures to 140/90 mm Hg in the general population and to 130/80 mm Hg in patients with diabetes or chronic kidney disease. If patients do not meet blood pressure goals with lifestyle modifications, thiazide diuretics are recommended as first-line pharmacotherapies. Other antihyper-tensive medications are recommended if certain "compelling indications" are present: beta blockers for coronary heart disease with angina, beta blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) for heart failure, and ACE inhibitors or ARBs for diabetes.