The Evaluation of Antihypertensive Therapy Cooperative Clinical Trial Method

Abstract

The need for adequate clinical trial of therapeutic agents is particularly evident in the field of antihypertensive drugs. It is not possible for individual physicians to evaluate properly the plethora of agents available and recommended for use. The mounting evidence that early and effective therapy is beneficial lends urgency to the need to know which of, or in what combination, these agents are most efficacious and least toxic. Guidelines based on valid clinical trial must be established. Many efforts have lacked validity due to insufficient numbers of cases, lack of appropriate controls, and failure to eliminate bias. The cooperative study