The Hispanic women also had lower baseline mean systolic but higher baseline mean diastolic pressure (P<0.001) for both).
Although all women were using antihypertensive medications at baseline, only 24% of the Hispanic women and 20% of the non-Hispanic whites had blood pressure well controlled at baseline.
Among the findings:
- Mean diastolic blood pressure reduction was greater in Hispanic women than non-Hispanic whites (P<0.001).
- Blood pressure reduction was comparable with either verapamil(Drug information on verapamil) or atenolol(Drug information on atenolol)-based treatments for all women.
- Seventy-nine percent of Hispanic women and 84% of non-Hispanic white women required two or more drugs to achieve blood pressure control.
- History of heart failure, prior stroke/transient ischemic attack, diabetes, older age, and prior MI were all predictive of increased risk of primary outcome (first MI, nonfatal stroke, all cause mortality) in Hispanic women.
Ethnicity was determined by patients self report, which may not "reflect ancestral genetics," the investigators said.
