SynthesisThe Cochrane database of systematic reviews2012
Blood pressure lowering efficacy of alpha blockers for primary hypertension.
Synthesis in The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Blood pressure lowering efficacy of coenzyme Q10 for primary hypertension.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2016Pooled it
- α-Adrenergic receptor blockade attenuates pressor response during mental stress in young black adults.Physiological reports · 2021Trial
- Effect of Tamsulosin on Nocturnal Blood Pressure Load and Dipping Status: A Prospective Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Current Management of Resistant Hypertension in Patients with Intracerebral Hemorrhage.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Maximizing blood pressure lowering effects: a review of drug class comparisons and rationale for combination approaches.Frontiers in cardiovascular medicine · 2025Review
- First-line diuretics versus other classes of antihypertensive drugs for hypertension.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Review
- Current and Emerging Classes of Pharmacological Agents for the Management of Hypertension.American journal of cardiovascular drugs : drugs, devices, and other interventions · 2022Review
- Time-Restricted Eating and Metabolic Syndrome: Current Status and Future Perspectives.Nutrients · 2021Review
- Exploring a New Natural Treating Agent for Primary Hypertension: Recent Findings and Forthcoming Perspectives.Journal of clinical medicine · 2019Review
- Mechanisms in hypertension and target organ damage: Is the role of the thymus key? (Review).International journal of molecular medicine · 2018Review
- Efficacy and Safety of Alpha-Blockers for Kidney Stones in Adults.The Journal of pharmacy technology : jPT : official publication of the Association of Pharmacy Technicians · 2018Review
- Tolerability of Antihypertensive Medications in Older Adults.Drugs & aging · 2015Review
- Observational
- An assessment of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for non-communicable diseases (NCDs): more and higher quality research is required in less developed countries.Scientific reports · 2015Article
- The role of the kidney and the sympathetic nervous system in hypertension.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2015Review
- Article
- The immune system and hypertension.Immunologic research · 2014Review
Corrections and comments
- Update of
Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlpha blockers are occasionally prescribed for hypertension so it is important to determine and compare their effects on blood pressure (BP), heart rate and withdrawals due to adverse effects (WDAE).
objectivesTo quantify the dose-related systolic and/or diastolic BP lowering efficacy of alpha blockers versus placebo in the treatment of primary hypertension. SEARCH
methodsFor the updated review, we searched CENTRAL (The Cochrane Library 2012, Issue 4), MEDLINE (1946 to May 2012), EMBASE (1980 to May 2012) and reference lists of articles. SELECTION CRITERIA: Double-blind, randomized, controlled trials evaluating the BP lowering efficacy of fixed-dose monotherapy with an alpha blocker compared with placebo for a duration of 3 to 12 weeks in patients with primary hypertension. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two authors independently assessed the risk of bias and extracted data. Study authors were contacted for additional information. WDAE information was collected from the trials. MAIN
resultsOnly 10 trials evaluated the dose-related trough BP lowering efficacy of 4 different alpha blockers in 1175 participants with a baseline BP of 155/101 mm Hg. The data do not suggest that any one alpha blocker is better or worse at lowering BP. The best but unsatisfactory estimate of the trough BP lowering efficacy for alpha blockers is -8/-5 mmHg. AUTHORS'
conclusionsBased on the limited number of published RCTs, the BP lowering effect of alpha blockers is modest; the estimate of the magnitude of trough BP lowering of -8/-5 mmHg is likely an overestimate. There are no clinically meaningful BP lowering differences between different alpha blockers. The review did not provide a good estimate of the incidence of harms associated with alpha blockers because of the short duration of the trials and the lack of reporting of adverse effects in many of the trials.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.