ACCORD: Blood Pressure and Lipid Results

The ACCORD trial is best known for its findings, published in 2008, on the effect of glycemic control on macrovascular endpoints. Older patients (mean age, 62) with longstanding type 2 diabetes (average duration, 10 years) received either intensive or standard glucose-lowering therapy, resulting in mean glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA_1c) levels of 6.4% and 7.5%, respectively. The trial was halted after about 4 years of follow-up, during which overall mortality actually was higher with intensive glycemic control, and the primary endpoint (myocardial infarction, stroke, or cardiovascular death) occurred with similar frequency in the two groups (JW Gen Med Jun 6 2008). Many ACCORD patients also were randomized to various intensities of blood pres…