A modified isometric test to evaluate blood pressure control with once-daily slow-release verapamil.
Blood pressure at rest is not predictive of round-the-clock values. Blood pressure should therefore be measured during effort to evaluate hypertension and its response to treatment. The effect of sustained-release verapamil (240 mg taken once a day) on blood pressure at rest and during isometric effort was therefore investigated. Overall, verapamil reduced blood pressure significantly in 41 of 45 hypertensive patients: the mean systolic blood pressure at rest (+/- SD) fell from 151 +/- 35 mmHg to 137 +/- 13 mmHg (P < 0.001) and the diastolic blood pressure from 97 +/- 21 mmHg to 83 +/- 7 mmHg (P < 0.001), while the systolic blood pressure during isometric effort fell from 186 +/- 23 mmHg to 156 +/- 13 mmHg (P < 0.001) and the diastolic blood pressure from 118 +/- 14 mmHg to 95 +/- 8 mmHg (P < 0.001). The simple, inexpensive handgrip method described is cost-effective and strongly recommended as an integral part of the evaluation of hypertensive patients. The combination of a drug to which compliance is good and a simple method of blood pressure evaluation should result in improved effectiveness of treatment in the long term.
Cantor
A
A
Effort Test and Cardiac Rehabilitation Unit, Soroka Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
Gilutz
H
H
Meyer
T
T
D000328:Adult; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D016552:Ergometry / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007537:Isometric Contraction; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014700:Verapamil / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D003692:Delayed-Action Preparations; D014700:Verapamil