A MULTICENTER ANALYSIS OF THE USE OF ENALAPRIL AND LISINOPRIL IN ELDERLY HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical use and adverse effects of enalapr il and lisinopril in elderly hypertensive subjects. DESIGN: A multi-ce nter, retrospective, drug use evaluation survey. SETTING: Ambulatory c are clinics at 14 VA and 14 academic medical centers. PATIENTS: 422 el derly (>60 years of age) patients with hypertension and no clinical ev idence of congestive heart failure. INTERVENTION: At least 3 consecuti ve months of antihypertensive therapy with either enalapril or lisinop ril. MEASUREMENTS: Blood pressure, serum creatinine, serum potassium, concomitant disease states, concurrent medications, and documentation of any adverse event that might be related to ACE inhibitor therapy. R ESULTS: There were no significant differences in systolic and diastoli c blood pressures, serum creatinine, or serum potassium between enalap ril- and lisinopril-treated patients at baseline and after 3 months of therapy. Both treatments resulted in a significant reduction in diast olic blood pressure. There was no significant difference in the incide nce of adverse effects between the two treatments. Significantly more patients were dosed on a twice daily regimen of enalapril than lisinop ril. CONCLUSION: The data from this retrospective study confirm the sa fe and effective use of enalapril and lisinopril, two long-acting ACE inhibitors, in elderly hypertensive patients.