title: Can renin status predict the antihypertensive efficacy of eplerenone add-on therapy?
abstract: Since neither angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I) nor angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB) can completely suppress aldosterone levels, there is a need for alternative/supplementary antihypertensive medications, such as the selective aldosterone blocker eplerenone (Inspra). This multicenter study measured the safety and efficacy of add-on eplerenone therapy to reduce blood pressure not controlled by ACE-I or ARB monotherapy. An ad hoc analysis evaluated whether active plasma renin or serum aldosterone levels could predict blood pressure response to eplerenone therapy. Patients (N = 341) with a diastolic blood pressure > 95 mmHg on a fixed dose of ACE-I or ARB were randomized to 8 weeks of double-blind treatment with eplerenone 50 mg qd or placebo. If blood pressure remained uncontrolled following 2, 4, or 6 weeks of treatment, the eplerenone dose was increased to 100 mg qd. In a combined cohort analysis of these patients, the placebo-adjusted change in systolic and diastolic blood pressure was -5.9/-2.4 mmHg (p< 0.001 and p = 0.006, respectively). While adding eplerenone to an ACE-I or ARB is safe and effective for blood pressure reduction, there was no baseline value or range of values of active plasma renin, serum aldosterone, or their ratio that predicted a favorable response to either of these drug combinations.
authors.affiliation: Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA, USA.
authors.forename: L Michael
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Prisant
authors.forename: Henry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Krum
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Roniker
authors.forename: Scott L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.forename: Kaffa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fakouhi
authors.forename: Weizhong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D000077545:Eplerenone; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000097:blood* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012083:Renin / Q000097:blood*; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013148:Spironolactone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D013148:Spironolactone; D000077545:Eplerenone; D012083:Renin