title: Minoxidil: an underused vasodilator for resistant or severe hypertension.
abstract: Minoxidil is a direct vasodilator introduced in the early 1970s for the treatment of hypertension. It is capable of reducing blood pressure in most persons with resistant hypertension where therapy has failed with multidrug regimens. Minoxidil's effect can be limited because of an increase in pulse rate and/or sodium (and water) retention. The latter may prove quite debilitating in some patients. Thus, minoxidil is generally administered with both a diuretic and an agent that can keep pulse rate in check, such as a beta blocker or a combined alpha-beta blocker. The prominent tachycardia with minoxidil can aggravate myocardial ischemia and, if long-standing, leads to left ventricular hypertrophy. Minoxidil has a particularly annoying side effect of hypertrichosis that may limit its use, particularly among women. Minoxidil use is infrequently associated with the idiosyncratic onset of a pericardial effusion. If a patient's hypertension is severe enough to warrant minoxidil therapy, a hypertension specialist should probably become involved in the patient's care. The use of this medication should be limited in view of the availability of effective agents with fewer side effects. There is, however, a place for minoxidil in the treatment of resistant hypertension especially in patients with advanced renal disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Section of Clinical Pharmacology and Hypertension, Division of Nephrology, Medical College of Virginia of Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA 23298, USA. dsica@hsc.vcu.edu
authors.forename: Domenic A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Sica
mesh_terms: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008914:Minoxidil / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014665:Vasodilator Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D014665:Vasodilator Agents; D008914:Minoxidil