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| |  Combination Treatment Allows African Americans to Reach Blood Pressure and Cholesterol Level Goals: Presented at ASH By Ed Susman NEW YORK, N.Y. -- May 22, 2006 -- A high percentage of African Americans with high cholesterol and hypertension were able to get both heart disease risk factors under control using a pill that combines treatment for both conditions, according to research reported here at the 21st annual scientific meeting and exposition of the American Society of Hypertension (ASH). "Recent data demonstrates that the levels of both treatment and control of hypertension and dyslipidemia are worse among African Americans than in whites," said John Flack, MD, professor of medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan. "The management of the risk of cardiovascular disease through lowering blood pressure and cholesterol in African Americans is therefore a major challenge that needs to be addressed urgently." In their study, Dr. Flack and colleagues enrolled 499 African American patients with heart disease risk factors or who already had heart disease to determine the benefits of treatment with Caduet, a drug that combines amlodipine (Norvasc) and atorvastatin (Lipitor) in 1 pill. Patients were divided into 3 groups based on heart disease risk factor. Doctors were permitted to titrate patients to higher doses of Caduet. Less than 10% of patients were put on the highest dose -- amlodipine 10 mg/atorvastatin 80 mg. The average initial dose was 5.7 mg/18.9 mg; the average end dose was 8.2 mg/26.4 mg. In his late-breaker oral presentation on May 19th, Dr. flack said that 48.3% of patients were able to reach their treatment for blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while 73.7% of patients achieved national goals for cholesterol levels and 56.8% achieved blood pressure goals. Dr. Flack said that doctors too often prescribe a drug to patients and do not increase the dose or change the prescription, even when the patient seems to have stopped making progress in reaching their treatment goals. "We need to overcome physician inertia," he said. "It is clear that even in difficult-to-treat groups, such as diabetics and African Americans, we can get their blood pressure under control, but therapeutic inertia is a huge problem in cardiovascular management."
[Presentation title: Amlodipine/atorvastatin Single-Pill Dual Therapy Improves Goal Attainment in the Treatment of Concomitant Hypertension and Dyslipidemia in African-Americans: the CAPABLE trial. Late-breaker]
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