Double Blind Control Study of Antihypertensive Agents: III. Chlorothiazide Alone and in Combination with Other Agents; Preliminary Results

In 1956, Freis and a group of physicians in several Veterans Administration hospitals organized a cooperative study group to evaluate antihypertensive agents under well-controlled conditions. In this third and final article, they reported that treatment of hypertensive patients with the diuretic chlorothiazide compared favorably to earlier studies in which patients were treated with a combination of reserpine (a ganglionic-blocking agent) and hydralazine (a vasodilator). They further noted that patients from the earlier study who were then treated with chlorothiazide recorded even greater reductions in their blood pressure, even if the dosages of ganglionic blockers were reduced.