Blood-pressure reduction and cardiovascular risk in HOPE study

In the Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation (HOPE) study, use of the angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitor ramipril was associated with a 22% relative risk reduction in cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke, despite only a modest reduction in blood pressure (-3.3 mm Hg systolic). To test the hypothesis that the benefits seen were not due to reduced blood pressure alone, we calculated blood-pressure-related risk estimates from the placebo group of the HOPE trial, and from earlier studies. We found that the benefits seen in HOPE were around three times greater than predicted from these calculations. In this well treated and largely normotensive population with coronary disease, but good left-ventricular function, the benefits from ramipril were additive to other proven therapies in normotensive patients and in those with higher baseline blood pressure.