title: Long-term efficacy and tolerability of candesartan cilexetil in patients with mild to moderate hypertension.
abstract: The long-term efficacy and tolerability of candesartan cilexetil was assessed in two open-label, prospective multicentre studies in patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension. When administered in a flexible dosage regimen of 4-16 mg once-daily, candesartan cilexetil effectively lowered blood pressure (BP) and maintained its antihypertensive effects over the long term (< or =12 months). At the end of treatment, 81.1% of patients showed a clinically significant response (reduction in sitting diastolic BP of > or =10 mm Hg or reduction to <90 mm Hg), and 73.8% experienced normalisation of sitting diastolic BP (<90 mm Hg). Only a small proportion (10.7%) of patients prematurely discontinued treatment due to lack of efficacy. Candesartan cilexetil was well tolerated and was devoid of clinically relevant biochemical, haematological or cardiac effects. Only 12% of adverse events were judged to be causally related to the drug and only about 5% of patients withdrew from therapy due to adverse events. The most common adverse events were typical of hypertensive patients in general. Most adverse events appeared during the first 3 months of treatment and their incidence decreased steadily with time. Tolerability was unrelated to gender, age (<65 vs > or =65 years) or dosage. These results demonstrate that candesartan cilexetil maintains its antihypertensive effects and tolerability during long-term administration.
authors.affiliation: Imperial College School of Medicine at St Mary's Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sever
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Holzgreve
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D057911:Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001562:Benzimidazoles / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013777:Tetrazoles
chemical_list: D057911:Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D001562:Benzimidazoles; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; D013777:Tetrazoles; C077793:candesartan cilexetil