title: ACE inhibitors or AT-1 antagonists - which is OPTIMAAL after acute myocardial infarction?
abstract: OPTIMAAL (Optimal Trial in Myocardial Infarction with the Angiotensin II Antagonist Losartan) is the first major study to compare an angiotensin II Type 1 antagonist losartan (Cozaar trade mark, Merck) with an ACE inhibitor captonpril (Capoten trade mark, Elan) after myocardial infarction in patients with left ventricular dysfunction. Patients were assigned to a target dose of losartan 50 mg/day and captopril 50 mg t.i.d., as tolerated. The primary end point was all-cause mortality and there were 499 (18%) and 447 (16%) deaths in the losartan and captopril group, respectively (p = 0.07). However, there were significantly more cardiovascular deaths with losartan (420, 15%) than with captopril (363, 13%; p = 0.03). Losartan was better tolerated than captopril with fewer patients discontinuing medication (17 versus 23% for losartan and captopril, respectively). In conclusion, if tolerated, captopril should remain the preferred treatment for patients after complicated acute myocardial infarction.
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, QLD 4072, Australia. s.doggrell@mailbox.uq.edu.au
authors.forename: Sheila A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Doggrell
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D057911:Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002216:Captopril / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019808:Losartan / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D044140:Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1; D012107:Research Design; D018570:Risk Assessment
chemical_list: D057911:Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists; D000806:Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors; D044140:Receptor, Angiotensin, Type 1; D002216:Captopril; D019808:Losartan