Study Overview

Objective. To determine whether antihypertensive therapy reduces the risk of stroke among elderly patients with hy-pertension. Design. Multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Setting and participants. 3845 patients aged ≥ 80 years from 195 centers in 13 countries with sustained systolic blood pressure ≥ 160 mm Hg at enrollment. Patients with accelerated or sec-ondary hypertension, recent hemorrhagic stroke, existing heart failure, serum creatinine> 1.7 mg/dL, hypo- or hyperkalemia, gout, dementia, nursing home care, or a contraindication to a study medication were excluded. Patients were randomized to either a daily diuretic (sustained-release indapamide, 1.5 mg; n = 1933) or placebo (n = 1912). If the target blood pressure of < 150/80 mm Hg was not reached, patients received an addi