title: Combined therapy in the treatment of hypertension.
abstract: The majority of patients with hypertension need at least two antihypertensive agents to achieve blood pressure (BP) objectives. As current European guidelines for the treatment of arterial hypertension recommend, combined therapy is required when monotherapy fails and as a first-line treatment in certain situations, such as subjects at high or very high cardiovascular risk, markedly elevated BP values, or when lower targets are required (<130/80 mmHg). The advantages of combined therapy are well known and include an earlier and higher antihypertensive efficacy because of complementary mechanisms of action, and a lower incidence of side effects due to the possible compensatory responses and, in many cases, the lower doses used. In the present study, available evidence about the efficacy and tolerability of combined therapy for the treatment of hypertension is updated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Hospital Infanta Sofia, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Escobar
authors.forename: Vivencio
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Barrios
mesh_terms: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents