Extra Treatment Brings No Heart Benefit

A study has failed to show whether super-low blood pressure and cholesterol levels are good for health. The study included 499 American Indians. All had diabetes and therefore a high risk of heart disease. All were given medicine to lower blood pressure and cholesterol. Half aimed to reach levels recommended by current guidelines. The others were given more medicine to reach even lower levels. After three years, people who got more treatment had thinner artery walls in the neck than the other group. But rates of heart attacks and other events were similar in both groups. The study was published April 9 in the Journal of the American Medical Association.