Intensive blood pressure control in obese diabetic patients: clinical relevance of stroke prevention in the ACCORD trial

Abstract

Evaluation of: Barzilay JI, Howard AG, Evans GW et al. Intensive blood pressure treatment does not improve cardiovascular outcomes in centrally obese hypertensive individuals with diabetes: the Action to Control Cardiovascular Risk in Diabetes (ACCORD) Blood Pressure Trial. Diabetes Care 35(7), 1401–1405 (2012).In the ACCORD clinical trial, lowering blood pressure (BP) to normal levels, below currently recommended levels, did not significantly reduce the combined risk of fatal or nonfatal cardiovascular (CV) disease events in adults with Type 2 diabetes. A new post hoc analysis of the same trial also suggests that lowering BP in centrally obese diabetic patients is not a useful means for CV prevention. The authors discuss these findings in the light of accumulated evidence on the relationship between the degree of BP reduction and the risk of CV events in patients with diabetes. In particular, the authors focus on trial and systematic review findings, suggesting that a more intensive reduction of BP in Type 2 diabetes effectively protects from stroke.