14. High blood pressure adds to the workload of the heart and arteries and may increase the risk of heart attacks If not treated, this condition can also lead to heart failure, kidney failure, or stroke. We wish to test the effectiveness of Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors as a treatment for high blood pressure.
a) It is well known that men and women may react differently to common cardiovascular drug treatments. What sort of experimental design would you choose for this study, and why?
b) Explain why an experiment involving 600 men and 500 women is preferable to one involving 60 men and 50 women.
c) Assume that 600 men and 500 women suffering from high blood pressure are available for the study. Describe a design for this experiment. Be sure to include a description of how you assign individuals to the treatment groups.