title: New therapeutic agents for hypertension.
abstract: 1. Over the last 40 years a range of therapeutic strategies has been introduced for the long term treatment of hypertension. 2. Although safe effective agents are available a significant number of patients are unable or unwilling to take these drugs as long term treatment. 3. Both insufficient efficacy and adverse effects justify the search for new antihypertensive strategies. 4. Recent developments include orally active angiotensin (AT1) receptor antagonists (ARA) which appear to offer the benefits of prevention of angiotensin II effects without the adverse effects of bradykinin potentiation, such as cough, which limit the usefulness of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. 5. Imidazoline receptor agonists offer the potential of centrally active antihypertensives without the adverse effects of sedation and dry mouth. Further clinical experience is necessary to confirm whether the clinical efficacy and good tolerability are confirmed with long term use. 6. Both ARA and imidazoline preferring substances offer the bonus of a desirable haemodynamic profile in patients with heart failure and may open new therapeutic avenues in the management of cardiac failure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, University of Glasgow, UK.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Reid
mesh_terms: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000737:chemistry / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015195:Drug Design; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007093:Imidazoles / Q000378:metabolism; D054755:Imidazoline Receptors; D011945:Receptors, Angiotensin / Q000819:agonists; D011955:Receptors, Drug / Q000819:agonists / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D007093:Imidazoles; D054755:Imidazoline Receptors; D011945:Receptors, Angiotensin; D011955:Receptors, Drug