title: Treatment of hypertensive patients according to the conventional or ambulatory pressure: a progress report on the APTH trial. APTH Investigators. Ambulatory Blood Pressure and Treatment of Hypertension.
abstract: The main objective of the Ambulatory Blood Pressure and Treatment of Hypertension (APTH) trial is to test the hypothesis that antihypertensive treatment based on ambulatory monitoring may be more beneficial than treatment guided by conventional sphygmomanometry. After a 2-month run-in period on single-blind placebo, hypertensive patients were randomized to two groups, one in which the target pressure was a sitting diastolic pressure from 80 through 89 mm Hg on conventional sphygmomanometry (conventional blood pressure [CBP] group), and one in which a daytime (from 10 to 20 h) diastolic pressure from 80 through 89 mm Hg had to be achieved (ambulatory blood pressure [ABP] group). After randomization all patients were started on lisinopril 10 mg/day. One month later lisinopril could be continued at 10 or 20 mg/day or discontinued depending on the attained blood pressure level. This article is an interim report on 207 patients followed for two months into the trial. At one month lisinopril was discontinued more frequently in the ABP than the CBP group (24 vs 9 patients, p = 0.004). Nevertheless at two months, blood pressure control was not significantly different in the two treatment groups. The baseline-adjusted differences in systolic pressure between the two treatment arms of the trial (ABP-CBP group) were +2.7 mm Hg (95% confidence interval [CI]): -2.9, +8.3) for the conventional pressure, +0.4 mm Hg (CI: -4.3, +5.1) for the 24 h pressure, -0.1 mm Hg (CI: -5.1, +4.8) for the daytime pressure and -0.7 mm Hg (CI: -6.7, +5.4) for the night-time pressure. The corresponding differences in diastolic pressure were -1.3 mm Hg (CI: -4, +1.4), +0.1 mm Hg (CI: -3, +3.1), -1.1 mmgH (CI: -4.4, +2.1) and +0.3 mm Hg (CI: -3.7, +4.3), respectively. Thus, the present findings do not refute the APTH research hypothesis. In terms of blood pressure control and the number of patients remaining on antihypertensive drugs, treatment based on ambulatory recordings may be preferable to treatment guided by conventional sphygmomanometry.
authors.affiliation: Klinisch laboratorium Hypertensie, Inwendige Geneeskunde-Cardiologie U.Z. Gasthuisberg.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bieniaszewski
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Staessen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Polfliet
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Thijs
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fagard
mesh_terms: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D001795:Blood Pressure Determination; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017706:Lisinopril / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D017706:Lisinopril