title: Time to achieve blood-pressure goal: influence of dose of valsartan monotherapy and valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide combination therapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Our objective was to assess time to achieve blood-pressure (BP) goal with incremental doses of valsartan alone, and together with hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), in patients with uncomplicated hypertension.
  
  
  METHODS
  This analysis pooled patient-level data from nine randomized, double-blind, fixed-dose, placebo-controlled trials (N = 4278) of once-daily valsartan 80 mg, 160 mg, and 320 mg, and valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) 80/12.5 mg, 160/12.5 mg, 160/25 mg, 320/12.5 mg, and 320/25 mg. Kaplan-Meier methods estimated the cumulative proportion of patients achieving BP <140/90 mm Hg over 8 weeks and the median time to BP goal. The HCTZ 12.5-mg and 25-mg doses were pooled for the time-to-goal analysis in patients receiving combinations with valsartan 160 mg or 320 mg.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, the median time-to-goal was 8.1 weeks with valsartan 160 mg, 6.1 weeks with valsartan 320 mg, 2.6 weeks with valsartan 160 mg/HCTZ, and 2.1 weeks with valsartan 320 mg/HCTZ. In patients with stage 2 hypertension, the median time-to-goal was 4.3 weeks with valsartan 160 mg/HCTZ and 2.4 weeks with valsartan 320 mg/HCTZ. Goal rates by Week 4 for valsartan/HCTZ exceeded rates by Week 8 with the same doses of valsartan alone. Overall, the proportion that achieved BP goal by Week 8 was 32.6% with valsartan 80 mg, 48.4% with valsartan 160 mg, 54.2% with valsartan 320 mg, 74.6% with valsartan 160 mg/HCTZ, and 84.8% with valsartan 320 mg/HCTZ, versus 24.2% with placebo. With valsartan 320 mg/HCTZ, 75.8% of stage 2 patients and 94% of stage 1 patients reached BP goal by Week 8. Discontinuation rates due to adverse events were generally low across doses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In both stage 1 and stage 2 hypertension, BP control is achieved more frequently and promptly when patients receive higher doses of valsartan monotherapy or valsartan combination therapy, with a favorable benefit-risk profile.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA. mweir@medicine.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Matthew R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Weir
authors.forename: Drew
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Levy
authors.forename: Nora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Crikelair
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.forename: Xiangyi
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Glazer
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006852:Hydrochlorothiazide / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D013777:Tetrazoles / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014633:Valine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D000068756:Valsartan
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D013777:Tetrazoles; D006852:Hydrochlorothiazide; D000068756:Valsartan; D014633:Valine