Once-daily penbutolol or atenolol can replace combination therapy in essential hypertension.
Antihypertensive therapy was stopped in twenty-one patients with moderate hypertension. Almost all of them had been on combination therapy, usually propranolol or metoprolol with chlorthalidone, for more than a year. After a placebo 'wash-out' period of 4 weeks patients were randomly allocated in a controlled trial to a fixed daily dose of either 100 mg atenolol or 40 mg penbutolol for 6 weeks. Single-agent therapy at these doses successfully controlled the blood pressure in nineteen of the twenty-one patients, including six previously inadequately controlled on a combination. Although no conclusions can be drawn about the long-term benefits, in the patient population under study either penbutolol or atenolol given at a standard dose should provide good initial blood pressure control in most patients with mild to moderate hypertension.
D001262:Atenolol / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002752:Chlorthalidone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008790:Metoprolol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010394:Penbutolol / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011412:Propanolamines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011433:Propranolol / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011674:Pulse / Q000187:drug effects
D011412:Propanolamines; D001262:Atenolol; D010394:Penbutolol; D011433:Propranolol; D008790:Metoprolol; D002752:Chlorthalidone