Fixed-dose combination therapy of candesartan cilexetil and amlodipine besilate for the treatment of hypertension in Japan.
Hypertension is one of the most prevalent disorders and the largest contributor to global mortality. The aim of antihypertensive treatment is to reduce the risk of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality by lowering increased blood pressure (BP) to target levels. Despite progress in antihypertensive drug development, BP control remains suboptimal. Accumulating evidence has shown that fixed-dose combination therapy is better in terms of BP control than increasing the dose of one drug or its corresponding combination. Fixed-dose combinations of an angiotensin receptor blocker, candesartan cilexetil, and a calcium channel blocker, amlodipine besilate (candesartan/amlodipine 8/2.5 or 8/5 mg), were approved in Japan for once-daily oral administration in hypertensive patients. Recent data showed that a fixed-dose combination of candesartan and amlodipine lowered BP safely and rapidly, providing a potential opportunity to improve the rate of BP control. Further studies are needed to determine whether this will lead to improvements in long-term clinical outcomes.
EBM Research Center, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan. syasuno@kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Shinji
S
Yasuno
Akira
A
Fujimoto
Yasuaki
Y
Nakagawa
Koichiro
K
Kuwahara
Kenji
K
Ueshima
D000284:Administration, Oral; D017311:Amlodipine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001562:Benzimidazoles / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D004338:Drug Combinations; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007564:Japan; D013777:Tetrazoles / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D001562:Benzimidazoles; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; D004338:Drug Combinations; D013777:Tetrazoles; D017311:Amlodipine; C077793:candesartan cilexetil