Treatment of Essential Hypertension with Chlorothiazide (Diuril): Its Use Alone and Combined with Other Antihypertensive Agents

In this article, Freis and his colleagues reported the results of their initial trials of the new diuretic, chlorothiazide, in patients with moderate hypertension. Chlorothiazide often reduced blood pressure when used alone; when used together with other antihypertensive drugs, it potentiated their effects, so that lower doses of the other drugs could be used, and side-effects could be avoided. Chlorothiazide represented a major advance in the treatment of hypertension.