ANTIHYPERTENSIVE EFFICACY AND TOLERABILITY OF ONCE-DAILY LOSARTAN POTASSIUM COMPARED WITH CAPTOPRIL IN PATIENTS WITH MILD-TO-MODERATE ESSENTIAL-HYPERTENSION

Introduction: Losartan potassium, an orally active, highly selective A T(1) angiotensin II receptor inhibitor, effectively reduces blood pres sure by direct receptor blockade, thereby lessening the likelihood of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor-associated side effects such as dry cough or possibly angioedema. Study design: In this multin ational, double-blind, randomized, parallel study double dagger, the e fficacy and tolerability of once-daily losartan (50 mg) versus once-da ily ACE inhibitor (captopril; 50 mg) was evaluated in 1 63 patients wi th mild to moderate hypertension. Non-responders after a 6-week treatm ent period had the dosage doubled for both study drugs until the end o f study (week 12). Results: Mean reductions in trough sitting diastoli c blood pressure were significantly greater in the losartan group at w eek 6 (7.8 mmHg) and week 12 (9.1 mmHg) than in the captopril group (5 .2 and 5.7 mmHg, respectively). Losartan and captopril were well toler ated. Headache was the most common adverse event reported in both grou ps. Conclusions: It was concluded that a once-daily administration of losartan was significantly more effective in this study in lowering si tting diastolic blood pressure than once-daily administration of capto pril in patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension. Both lo sartan and captopril regimes were well tolerated.