BACKGROUND:

DISH was a multicenter, controlled, randomized study conducted in 1980-1983 of 496 patients, who were formerly participants in the Hypertension Detection and Follow-up Program and who had their blood pressure well controlled with medication. At DISH baseline they were randomized to continue medication or to be withdrawn from antihypertensive medication to determine if weight reduction or sodium restriction/potassium increase interventions could maintain these people under blood pressure control without drugs. Only the main findings regarding diastolic blood pressure control under the different diet regimens, were analyzed and reported during the course of DISH funding. Many questions which could be uniquely addressed by this comprehensive data base remained unexplored.

DESIGN NARRATIVE:

The investigators explored the questions dealing with demographic, clinical and physiologic predictors of relapse to the hypertensive state.

They also analyzed the mortality experience of this cohort five years post DISH in relation to the DISH randomization groups and in relation to success in remaining off drugs during DISH. They did this by querying the National Death Index to determine who of the DISH participants died following the termination of DISH.