Questions regarding benefit of antihypertensive drug therapy in mild hypertension. A review of 8,912 patients with mild hypertension (systolic blood pressure of 140-159 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure of 90-99 mmHg), but no previous cardiovascular events, found that treatment for five years with antihypertensive drug therapy did not reduce total mortality, stroke, coronary heart disease, or total cardiovascular events, compared with placebo. This finding, published in the August issue of the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, questions long-standing U.S. and European recommendations for drug therapy in this population; therefore, the authors recommend further randomized controlled trials.