Choice of generic antihypertensive drugs for the primary prevention of cardiovascular disease-A cost-effectiveness analysis
BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, 04/05/2012  Clinical Article

Wisloff T et al. – Generic antihypertensives are cost–effective in a wide range of risk groups. There is considerable uncertainty, however, regarding which drug is the most cost–effective.

• Authors used the Norwegian Cardiovascular Disease model (NorCaD) to simulate the cardiovascular life of patients from hypertension without symptoms until they were all dead or 100 years old.
• The risk of CVD events and costs were based on recent Norwegian sources.

• In single–drug treatment, all antihypertensives are cost–effective compared to no drug treatment.
• In the base–case analysis, the first, second and third choice of antihypertensive were calcium channel blocker, thiazide and angiotensin–converting enzyme inhibitor.
• However the sensitivity and scenario analyses indicated considerable uncertainty in that angiotensin receptor blockers as well as, angiotensin–converting enzyme inhibitors, beta blockers and thiazides could be the most cost–effective antihypertensive drugs.