Blood pressure response to antihypertensive agents related to baseline blood pressure.

Prevalence of white-coat hypertension varies approximately 20 per cent among mild hyper- tensives. When white-coat hypertensives are prescribed antihypertensive medication, there is usually a decrease in clinic blood pressure (BP), but little or no change in 24 hours blood pressure (ABPM). The objective of the study was to test the hypothesis that efficacy of medication therapy for hyper- tension is identical in any grading of severity of baseline blood pressure. The authors retrospectively analysed ABPM data from mild to moderate hypertensive patients. Efficacy in decreasing blood pres- sure by antihypertensives has linear relation to baseline blood pressure. Response to antihypertensive agents in white-coat hypertension is minimal but a significant effect still persists and the possibility of hypotensive adverse events from medication in the case cannot be overlooked. Key word : Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring, Hypertension, White-Coat Hypertension, Amlodipine, Mibefradil