EVALUATION OF THE ANTIHYPERTENSIVE EFFICACY AND TOLERABILITY OF MOEXIPRIL, A NEW ACE-INHIBITOR, COMPARED TO HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE IN ELDERLY PATIENTS

Objective: To compare the antihypertensive efficacy of moexipril, a ne w angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, to treatment with hyd rochlorothiazide (HCTZ). Patients: Two hundred and one non-hospitalize d male and female patients between 65 and 80 years of age with essenti al hypertension. Methods: This was a multicentre, placebo-controlled, double-blind study with a parallel group design. Subjects with a sitti ng diastolic blood pressure (DBP) greater than or equal to 95 mmHg wer e randomized to monotherapy with placebo, moexipril 7.5 mg o.d., moexi pril 15 mg o.d. or HCTZ 25 mg o.d. for 8 weeks. Results: Throughout th e study period treatment with moexipril and HCTZ resulted in significa nt reductions of DBP compared with placebo, but there were no signific ant differences between the active treatment groups. At end point the adjusted mean reductions were 10.5, 8.7 and 10.1 mmHg in the HCTZ, moe xipril 7.5 mg and moexipril 15 mg groups, respectively, compared to 3. 9 mmHg in the placebo group. Treatment with moexipril was associated w ith two cases of first dose hypotension and two cases of moderate and reversible increases in serum creatinine levels. Otherwise, both dosag es of moexipril were well tolerated and the overall percentages of pat ients who had adverse experiences were smaller than in the placebo gro up. Conclusion: Moexipril is well tolerated and is at least as effecti ve as HCTZ in elderly patients with essential hypertension.