[Cost-effectiveness of treatment of high blood pressure with losartan in Denmark]. / Omkostningseffektivitet ved hypertensionsbehandling med losartan i Danmark.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this analysis was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of losartan compared with atenolol for the treatment of hypertension, both from the point of view of society and from that of the health care sector, based on data from the LIFE study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The computations are based on a simple decision tree model, where the probability of stroke was obtained from the LIFE study, a double-blind, randomised clinical study of 9,193 patients with hypertensive left ventricle hypertrophy. RESULTS: The treatment of hypertension with losartan rather than atenolol entails a cost of DKK 19,668 per gained quality-adjusted life year (QALY), when only the cost of the health care sector is taken into account, and DKK 72,564 if all costs to society are included. CONCLUSION: The analysis shows that treatment with losartan is cost-effective even when the uncertainty in both data and economic evaluations is taken into account.