Management of hypertension: summary of NICE guidance

In a rapid response to this Practice article by Taryn Krause and colleagues (BMJ 2010;343:d4891 doi:10.1136/bmj.d4891), Kate Harding and colleagues write that it “does not mention that women of child bearing potential should not be treated with either ACE inhibitors or ARBs without a detailed discussion of the teratogenic potential of these drugs, and advice to discontinue them preferably prior to conception” (www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d4891.extract/reply#bmj_el_269620). In reply, the authors acknowledge the omission from this summary document but point out that the full NICE guidance does contain specific recommendations on the subject (www.bmj.com/content/343/bmj.d4891.extract/reply#bmj_el_270204).