title: Low-dose combination therapy: the rationalization for an ACE inhibitor and a calcium channel blocker in higher risk patients.
abstract: As more high-risk hypertensives are treated and the need for more intensive antihypertensive therapy is recognized, combination therapies are increasingly used. For initial therapy, particularly for relatively low-risk patients, low-dose combinations are often appropriate. For those who require additional therapy, higher doses of combinations may provide further efficacy while minimizing dose-dependent side effects of monotherapy, thereby improving adherence to therapy. Those combination agents should provide 24-h control with one daily dose, thereby ensuring protection in the early morning hours. Combining an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor and a calcium channel blocker is a rational approach to treating hypertension. Not only does it provide significantly better blood pressure control than individual components used as monotherapy, it also minimizes dose-dependent side effects. Also, combining agents from different classes results in complementary mechanisms of action that provide other cardiovascular protective benefits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75390-8899, USA.
authors.forename: N M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Kaplan
mesh_terms: D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D002121:Calcium Channel Blockers