COMPARISON OF THE ANTIHYPERTENSIVE EFFECTS AND SAFETY OF PINACIDIL AND CAPTOPRIL

Abstract To compare the antihypertensive efficacy and safety of pinacidil in mild to moderate essential hypertension with that of captopril, 128 patients (63 men and 65 women), mean age 50.49 ± 0.71 years, were treated in a controlled study lasting 10 weeks. The initial dosage (pinacidil: 12.5 mg BID; captopril: 25 mg BID) could be doubled (25 mg BID and 50 mg BID, respectively) or combined with hydrochlorothiazide (12.5 mg BID) at fixed times during the study, whenever diastolic blood pressure remained >95 mmHg. Normalization of blood pressure was reported for 67.2% of patients treated with pinacidil and 68.7% of those treated with captopril. The captopril group required the diuretic combination more frequently. Heart rate, body weight, and laboratory parameters did not show clinically important changes during either treatment. No side effects were observed in 86% of patients treated with pinacidil and in 89% of those treated with captopril.