Antihypertensive therapy and sudden cardiac death, should we expect the unexpected?

Hypertension (HTN) and sudden cardiac death (SCD) constitute major public health problems accounting for millions of deaths each year worldwide. Both HTN and HTN-induced left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) have been shown to be independent risk factors for SCD. However, the association between antihy...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of human hypertension 2020-05, Vol.34 (5), p.339-345
Main Authors: Sanidas, Elias, Malliaras, Konstantinos, Papadopoulos, Dimitrios, Velliou, Maria, Tsakalis, Konstantinos, Zerva, Kanella, Barbetseas, John
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
692/699/75
692/700/1750
Antihypertensive Agents - therapeutic use
Antihypertensive drugs
Antihypertensives
Cardiac arrest
Cardiovascular diseases
Death, Sudden, Cardiac - epidemiology
Death, Sudden, Cardiac - etiology
Death, Sudden, Cardiac - prevention & control
Defibrillators
Diuretics
Drug therapy
Epidemiology
Health Administration
Health aspects
Heart
Heart enlargement
Humans
Hypertension
Hypertension - complications
Hypertension - drug therapy
Hypertrophy
Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular - drug therapy
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Mortality
Myocardial Infarction
Public Health
Review Article
Risk Factors
Ventricle
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Summary:Hypertension (HTN) and sudden cardiac death (SCD) constitute major public health problems accounting for millions of deaths each year worldwide. Both HTN and HTN-induced left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) have been shown to be independent risk factors for SCD. However, the association between antihypertensive pharmacotherapy and risk of SCD has been under-investigated. Given that antihypertensive pharmacotherapy effectively reduces overall cardiovascular mortality, it would be expected to protect patients from SCD. Nevertheless, available data demonstrate that antihypertensive medications (primarily thiazide diuretics), while effective in reducing the incidence of myocardial infarction, do not confer protection from SCD. The purpose of this review was to present the relationship between HTN, LVH, and SCD and to describe the potential association between antihypertensive pharmacotherapy and risk of SCD.
ISSN:0950-9240
1476-5527
DOI:10.1038/s41371-020-0299-3