A study known as the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial, ALLHAT, has suggested that generic blood pressure drugs are as good as more expensive ones and are just as good as new.

ALLHAT participants were followed by researchers and these people were taking one of three classes of blood pressure drugs for an average of 8.8 years. Researchers observed that blood pressure was lowered by a generic diuretic chlorthalidone heart attack and stroke was also prevented.

Dr. Paul Whelton of Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill., and colleagues stated that the diuretic were favoured by the only significant differences.

As compared to calcium channel blocker, diuretic helped in lowering heart failure hospitalization and fatalities at 8.8 years. As compared with the ACE inhibitor, fatal strokes remained lower.

The total cost every year of generic diuretics is $25 to $40 per year and that of newer brand-name hypertension drugs is up to $300 to $600 annually.

Dr. Stephen L. Kopecky of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn, said that it does not make a difference that what drug is used as long the blood pressure is controlled.

He added, "It can be lifestyle, it can be exercise, it can be weight loss, it can be not smoking and drinking. What we're finding over and over again is it really is important getting your numbers under control no matter how you do it."