EFFECTS AND TOLERABILITY AT IRBESARTAN VERSUS ENALAPRIL IN PATIENTS WITH SEVERE HYPERTENSION

In this double-blind, randomized study, an antihypertensive regimen ba sed on irbesartan, an angiotensin II receptor antagonist, reduced syst olic and diastolic blood pressure by 40/30 mm Hg at week 12 in patient s with severe hypertension; this reduction was at least equivalent to that of a regimen using enalapril up to 40 mg. The irbesartan-based re gimen had a better tolerability profile with fewer adverse events (55% vs 64%) and significantly less cough (2.5% vs 13.1%, p = 0.007).