title: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition as first-line treatment for hypertension.
abstract: 1. Perindopril (4 mg) was compared with atenolol (50 mg), captopril (25 mg b.d.) or a diuretic (hydrochlorothiazide 50 mg and amiloride 5 mg) in three studies involving a total of 503 hypertensive patients with a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 95-125 mmHg. 2. A 4 week single-blind placebo period preceded 12 weeks of active treatment. Dose titration was at weeks 4 and 8 if supine DBP greater than 90 mmHg. The dose was doubled and if necessary a diuretic was added in the atenolol or captopril comparisons, and atenolol was added in the diuretic study. 3. The fall in supine blood pressure (BP) was 27/17 mmHg with perindopril and 21/16 mmHg for atenolol. Monotherapy controlled 55% of patients on perindopril and 48% on atenolol, increasing to 78% and 58% with the addition of hydrochlorothiazide, respectively. Captopril caused a BP fall of 19/12 mmHg compared with 27/18 mmHg for perindopril, with 49% of both groups being controlled on monotherapy. 4. Diuretic addition produced a greater antihypertensive effect with perindopril (75%) compared with 57% for captopril in achieving control. Perindopril caused a comparable fall in supine BP to the diuretic combination 27/19 mmHg and 31/18 mmHg, but the fall in erect systolic BP was significantly greater for the diuretic. At 3 months, 85% of the diuretic group and 78% of the perindopril group achieved the target BP. 5. A multicentre trial of 856 patients treated with perindopril (690 patients treated for 1 year or more) has shown that BP control is maintained in the long term with a low incidence of side-effects (7.9%) causing withdrawal from treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Leicester Royal Infirmary, UK.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Thurston
mesh_terms: D000584:Amiloride / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001262:Atenolol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002216:Captopril / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006852:Hydrochlorothiazide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007211:Indoles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020913:Perindopril
chemical_list: D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D007211:Indoles; D006852:Hydrochlorothiazide; D001262:Atenolol; D000584:Amiloride; D002216:Captopril; D020913:Perindopril