http://www.drbriffa.com/2012/08/17/t...e-ineffective/

http://summaries.cochrane.org/CD0067...on-are-unclear

"Treating mild high blood pressure with drugs found to be ineffective"

Hmmm. Ya don't say?

"We’ve long known that almost all benefit from treating severe
hypertension comes with lowering BP [blood pressure] just a little. On
the other hand, efforts to lower BP to ‘normal,’ typically requiring
multiple drugs, are not only usually unsuccessful but produce more
harm than good, since adverse effects of intensive treatment outweigh
the minimal marginal benefit of a little more BP ‘control.’ Drug
treatment of mild hypertension….may be of great value to drug makers,
but it was almost predictable that it would provide little or no
benefit for patients."

"Results showed that in those treated with active medication (compared
to placebo) we

At no reduced risk of developing heart disease
At no reduced risk of stroke
At no reduced risk of ‘total cardiovascular events’ (essentially
heart attacks and strokes combined)
At no reduced risk of overall risk of death"

--
Dogman

"I have approximate answers and possible beliefs in different degrees of certainty
about different things, but I'm not absolutely sure of anything" - Richard Feynman