• Jackson T Wright, Lawrence Agodoa, Gabriel Contreras, Tom Greene, Janice G Douglas, James Lash, Otelio Randall, Nancy Rogers, Michael C Smith, Shaul Massry, and African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension Study Group.
• Department of Medicine, Division of Hypertension, Case Western Reserve University, 10900 Euclid Ave, Wood Bldg, Room W-165, Cleveland, OH 44106-4982, USA.
• Arch Intern Med. 2002 Jul 22; 162 (14): 163616431636-43.

BackgroundThe African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK) is an ongoing trial to evaluate the effect of blood pressure and choice of antihypertensive drug on the rate of decline of renal function.ObjectiveTo present the success of the AASK in achieving the trial's rigorous blood pressure goals in an extremely challenging patient population.MethodsThe AASK participants included African American patients with hypertension (n = 1094), aged 18 to 70 years, with glomerular filtration rates between 20 and 65 mL/min per 1.73 m(2) and no other identified causes of renal insufficiency. Participants were randomized to a goal mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) of either 102 to 107 mm Hg (usual MAP goal) or 92 mm Hg or less (low MAP goal). Participants in each of these groups were also randomized (double-blind) to a regimen containing metoprolol succinate, ramipril, or amlodipine besylate. Additional agents were added, if required, in the following recommended order: furosemide, doxazosin mesylate, clonidine hydrochloride, or hydralazine hydrochloride (or minoxidil, if needed).ResultsIn participants randomized to the low MAP goal, the percentage of participants who achieved a blood pressure of less than 140/90 mm Hg increased from a baseline of 20.0% to 78.9% by 14 months after randomization. For usual MAP goal participants, the corresponding percentages increased from 21.5% to 41.8%. The difference in median levels of MAP between the 2 MAP goal groups increased and remained at approximately 12 mm Hg. Blood pressure reduction was similar regardless of age, sex, body mass index, education, insurance or employment status, income, or marital status.ConclusionThe blood pressure goals set and achieved in AASK participants clearly demonstrate that adequate blood pressure control can be achieved even in hypertensive populations whose blood pressure is the most difficult to control.

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