A Prescribing Cascade in Older Adults with Hypertension

In adults aged 66 and older, prescription of calcium-channel blockers was associated with greater likelihood of later prescription of loop diuretics.

Calcium-channel blockers (CCBs) are first-line agents in the treatment of hypertension although dihydropyridine CCBs, particularly amlodipine, can lead to edema in the lower extremities. Using population-based administrative databases from Ontario, Canada, investigators sought to determine the association between new CCB prescriptions and subsequent prescriptions of loop diuretics (presumably to treat the peripheral edema) in adults aged ≥66 and diagnosed with hypertension.

The case group consisted of 41,086 adults with a newly dispensed CCB prescription; comparison groups were 66,494 individuals prescribed other antihypertensive medications and 231,439 individuals prescribed unrelated medications. Individuals prescribed a CCB were more like…

Reviewing Author

Fatima Rodriguez, MD, MPH, FACC, FAHA

Disclosures

Consultant/Advisory BoardNovoNordisk; HealthPals; Novartis; Amgen

EquityHealthPals; Carta

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; American Heart Association–Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

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