[Clinical study of the month. Secondary prevention of cerebrovascular accident with perindopril: the PROGRESS study].

PROGRESS ("Perindopril pROtection aGainst REcurrent Stroke Study") demonstrated that blood-pressure lowering treatment with perindopril, an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (combined with the diuretic agent indapamide when necessary), reduces the risk of stroke by 28% (95% CI: 17-38, p < 0.0001) among patients with a history of stroke or transient ischaemic attack. This protective effect was observed among both hypertensive and non-hypertensive individuals. It was more marked in the patients receiving combined perindopril + indapamide treatment (-43%; 95% CI 30-54) who were those who showed the greatest reduction in arterial blood pressure (-12/5 mm Hg). According to these observations, the authors concluded that treatment with these two agents should now be considered routinely for patients with a history of stroke or transient ischaemic attack, irrespective of their blood pressure.