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Updated: Dec 25, 2025

Receptor Autoradiography Protocol for the Localized Visualization of Angiotensin II Receptors
Published on: June 7, 2016
The role of angiotensin receptor blockers in CVD risk management
Leonardo Grabinski Bottino1, Flávio Danni Fuchs1,2
1School of Medicine, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Insights
Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) show limited effectiveness in preventing cardiovascular events and deaths. New concerns include potential links to cancer and suicide, warranting further investigation.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Pharmacology
- Public Health
Background:
- Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are guideline-recommended for hypertension.
- Recent concerns question their effectiveness and safety profile.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review ARBs' effectiveness in preventing major cardiovascular outcomes.
- To examine emerging adverse effects associated with ARBs.
Main Methods:
- Review of seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs).
- Analysis of several large-scale meta-analyses.
- Inclusion of observational studies and reports on drug contamination.
Main Results:
- ARBs were not superior to placebo in preventing all-cause deaths and cardiovascular events.
- Retractions of three RCTs raise concerns about data reliability.
- Potential associations with increased cancer risk and suicide incidence were noted.
- Carcinogenic contaminants found in several ARB batches.
Conclusions:
- ARBs lack proven efficacy in reducing cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.
- Current evidence does not support ARBs as preferential hypertension treatments.
- Further research is needed on ARBs' links to suicide and cancer.
Abstract:
Introduction: Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are recommended as preferential drugs in the treatment of hypertension by guidelines. In this review, we reappraise their effectiveness to preventing major cardiovascular outcomes and the recent concerns with new adverse effects.Areas covered: ARBs were not superior to placebo in the prevention of all-cause deaths and combined cardiovascular events in seven randomized controlled trials (RCT). Several meta-analyses, with large number of participants, confirmed these findings. Three RCT trials, published in top journals, were retracted due to the uncertain reliability of their findings. Beside the low effectiveness in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), ARBs were implicated in one meta-analysis with an increased risk of cancer a finding that was not confirmed in another meta-analysis. In observational studies, ARBs were associated with a higher incidence of suicides. In addition, several lots of ARBs were contaminated with carcinogens.Expert opinion: ARBs have not been proven to reduce CVD risk and therefore should not be preferential drugs to treat hypertension. The implication of ARBs with suicide and cancer needs to be further studied.
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