5- and 10-year mortality in a rural middle-aged population at Haapavesi, Northern Finland, with special reference to ischaemic heart disease.

As a part of a larger prospective population study of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) the causes of 5- and 10-year mortality were analysed in 1554 rural inhabitants aged 40 to 59 years (90.0% of the population of this age group) in Northern Finland. The total mortality in 5 years was 2.3% among women and 6.3% among men. The respective 10-year mortality figures were 6.2% and 13.4%. The proportion of IHD as a cause of these deaths among women was 35% and 34% in 5 and 10 years, respectively; among men 46% and 46% of the deaths were due to IHD in 5 and 10 years, respectively. Among women the proportion of strokes was 22% and 19% in 5 and 10 years, respectively; the other causes of death among women amounted to 43% and 47% in 5 and 10 years, respectively. Among men, strokes resulted in the death of 14% and 7% in 5 and 10 years, respectively, the other causes of death amounted to 40% and 47% in 5 and 10 years, respectively. The incidence of IHD as a cause of death among women was higher than previously reported.

Clonidine twice daily in hypertension. Effects of two dosage regimens on blood pressure, side-effects and plasma clonidine concentrations.

The effects of two b.i.d. dosing schedules of clonidine on blood pressure, side-effects and plasma concentration of clonidine were studied in a randomized cross-over study. The blood pressures of 10 hypertensive inpatients on diuretic treatment were recorded every 3-4 hours throughout the study. A twice-daily regimen with 0.075 mg clonidine administered at 8 a.m. and 0.15 mg at 10 p.m. resulted in a wider fluctuation of blood pressure than the same doses given at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. The most conspicuous finding was the significant rise (p less than 0.001) of diastolic blood pressure at 8 p.m., when clonidine was given at 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. The overall mean values of supine systolic and diastolic blood pressures were normotensive and did not differ from each other in the two dosing schedules. There were no obvious differences in subjective side-effects between the two regimens. Predose clonidine concentrations varied interindividually between 0.15 and 1.12 ng/ml, but the fluctuation in one and the same subject was small and related to dose and its timing. Thus, twice-daily dosing of clonidine seems to result in a satisfactory blood pressure reduction. Fluctuation of blood pressure is greater when the evening dose is given at 10 p.m.

Abrupt and gradual change from clonidine to beta blockers in hypertension.

Elective change of antihypertensive therapy from clonidine to beta-blockers was studied in 18 hypertensive inpatients on diuretic treatment. An abrupt cessation of clonidine (0.3 mg t.i.d.) and start of treatment 12 hours later with atenolol (50 mg b.i.d.) resulted, within 24-36 hours, in severe rise of blood pressure and intolerable symptoms of clonidine withdrawal in all 4 patients studied. Plasma noradrenaline levels were elevated 18-24 hours after the last dose of clonidine. Halving the previous daily clonidine dose (0.15 mg t.i.d.) and discontinuing it after three days on concomitant treatment with atenolol or timolol in increasing doses proved successful and caused only few side-effects in 14 hypertensive inpatients.