title: Differential pulse pressure response to various antihypertensive drug families.
abstract: Pulse pressure (PP) is emerging as a major pressure predictor of cardiac disease. The study comprised 10 185 untreated patients with essential hypertension. A total of 5395 men and 4790 women 56+/-13 years old, with uncomplicated essential hypertension, after a 15-day washout period and after 6 months of antihypertensive monotherapy were included. All patients included in the final cohort were responders and had normalized their blood pressure. PP was decreased least with diuretics (-5 mm Hg) and most with angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) and calcium antagonists (-15 mm Hg), followed by angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) (-12 mm Hg) alpha- and beta-blockers (-10 and -9 mm Hg), differentiating among antihypertensive classes (P<0.001). The magnitude of PP fall was related to the degree of left ventricular (LV) mass reduction (P<0.001), seen best with ARBs (r=0.42) and least with ACEIs (r=0.18). Of the antihypertensive medications used in everyday practice, PP decrease may be achieved best with ARBs and calcium antagonists, whereas diuretics confer poor response. PP was decreased least with diuretics (-5 mm Hg) and most with ARBs and calcium channel blockers (-15 mm Hg), followed by ACEI (-12 mm Hg) alpha- and beta-blockers (-10 and -9 mm Hg), differentiating among antihypertensive classes (P<0.001). Of the antihypertensive medications used in everyday practice, PP decrease may be achieved best with ARBs and calcium antagonists.
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Cardiology, Onassis Cardiac Surgery Center, Athens, Greece. eva_karpanou@mailbox.gr
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Karpanou
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Vyssoulis
authors.forename: C I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Stefanadis
authors.forename: D V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Cokkinos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011674:Pulse; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents