Stroke prevention with the angiotensin II type 1-receptor blocker candesartan in elderly patients with isolated systolic hypertension: the Study on Cognition and Prognosis in the Elderly (SCOPE).

What Was Tested

The paper reports a study of Antihypertensive Agents, published as a randomized controlled trial.

Isolated systolic hypertension is the predominant form of hypertension in the elderly, and stroke is the most common cardiovascular (CV) complication.

Who Took Part

The study group was 4,964 patients.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were older adults and people over 80, both men and women.

In the Study on Cognition and Prognosis in the Elderly (SCOPE), 4,964 patients age 70 to 89 years were randomly assigned to double-blind candesartan or placebo with open-label antihypertensive therapy (mostly thiazide diuretics) added as needed to control blood pressure.

Of the 4,964 patients, 1,518 had ISH (systolic blood pressure >160 mm Hg and diastolic blood pressure <90 mm Hg).

How the Study Was Run

The design is described as randomized, double-blind, open-label and placebo-controlled.

Because people in this Antihypertensive Agents study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

As a double-blind Antihypertensive Agents study, the assignments were hidden from both participants and investigators until the end.

Being open-label, the Antihypertensive Agents study did not mask who received what.

The comparison arm used a placebo, so changes seen with Antihypertensive Agents could be set against what happens without it.

The present study is a predefined subgroup analysis of outcome results in the ISH patients.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers, Antihypertensive Agents, Benzimidazoles, Biphenyl Compounds, Blood Pressure, Europe and Hydrochlorothiazide.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized, double-blind and open-label study of Antihypertensive Agents in 4,964 patients.

With several hundred people or more, it is a fairly large study for this kind of research.

Results are reported in around 5 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2004 (Journal of the American College of Cardiology), a journal based in United States.

More context: all human trials.