Overall, Americans do a poor job of meeting their blood pressure reduction targets - a recent survey found that only 27.4% of hypertensive adults have their blood pressure controlled to 140/90 or less. On the other hand, those taking part in a major clinical trial scored much higher.

Those are the preliminary findings from the CONVINCE (for Controlled ONset Verapamil INvestigation of Cardiovascular Endpoints) study. This is an international clinical trial that compares outcomes in those with hypertension who receive either controlled-onset extended-release verapamil or another antihypertensive medication (the beta-blocker atenolol or the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide).

In the first 2 years of the CONVINCE trial, 67% to 69% of the patients achieved and maintained control. Further, 90% kept their diastolic pressure under 90, while about 70% controlled their systolic pressure to 140 or less. At the beginning of the trial, only 20% of the 16,600 subjects had their pressure controlled at 140/90 mmHg or lower.

Analysis of the comparative effects of the various drug treatments will be done later. But the investigators wanted to report their early observation of improvement among all of the participants. They suggest that interested investigators, free care and medications, and well-educated subjects may explain why people in the setting of a trial reach their goal more easily, in contrast to the general population.