The Bedtime Administration of Doxazosin Controls Morning Hypertension and Albuminuria in Patients with Type-2 Diabetes: Evaluation Using Home-Based Blood Pressure Measurements

The control of high blood pressure (BP) after awakening in the morning (morning hypertension) as determined by home BP (HBP), as well as BP control throughout the day, may prevent diabetic vascular complications. We examined the effect of an α-adrenergic blocker (doxazosin) on BP measurements taken by HBP after awakening and during clinic visits (CBP) in 50 patients with type-2 diabetes and morning hypertension. We evaluated the urinary albumin excretion rate as an indicator of nephropathy. Doxazosin was taken orally once at bedtime for 1 to 3 months. The mean (± SD) dose was 2.9 ± 2.1 mg/day (1 to 8 mg/day). The BP was measured monthly at the clinic during the day and at home after awakening in the morning. In this short-term trial (2.8 ± 0.4 months), the systolic HBP decreased significantly from 164 ± 17 mmHg before treatment to 146 ± 19 mmHg after treatment, and the diastolic HBP decreased significantly from 85 ± 14 mmHg before treatment to 80 ± 9 mmHg after treatment. The systolic, but not the diastol...