Effect of nifedipine tablets on ambulatory blood pressure in patients aged less than 60 and greater than 65 years with systemic hypertension.
To evaluate the effect of age on the pattern of circadian blood pressure after nifedipine tablets, ambulatory blood pressure after administration of low and high doses of nifedipine, taken twice daily, was measured over a 24-hour period in 10 elderly and 8 young hypertensive patients. After a 2-week control period without antihypertensive drug, 10 mg of nifedipine was administered twice daily for 2 weeks (low-dose period), followed by 2 weeks of 20 mg (high-dose period). At the end of each period, ambulatory BP monitoring was conducted every 30 minutes for 24 hours, using an ABPM 630 (Nippon-Colin, Komaki, Japan). In both groups, averages of systolic and diastolic BP for the entire day decreased significantly from the control to the low-dose periods. However, after the high-dose period, only the elderly group had further significant reduction of systolic BP, whereas no further reduction was seen in the young group. Separate analysis of whole-day data into daytime and nighttime values revealed that a further decrease in systolic BP after the high-dose period in the elderly group was a reflection of nighttime decline. It was suggested that circadian BP patterns after administration of nifedipine tablets in the elderly differed from those in young hypertensive patients, especially after administration of the high-dose.
Kuwajima
I
I
Division of Cardiology, Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital, Japan.
Suzuki
Y
Y
Shimosawa
T
T
Otsuka
K
K
Kawamura
H
H
Kuramoto
K
K
D000368:Aged; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D015924:Blood Pressure Monitors; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009543:Nifedipine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013607:Tablets
D013607:Tablets; D009543:Nifedipine