TREATMENT OF MILD-TO-MODERATE ARTERIAL-HYPERTENSION WITH PINACIDIL ALONE OR IN COMBINATION WITH HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE

This multicenter, open-label, uncontrolled study included 98 patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension and assessed the efficacy of pinaci dil alone or in combination with hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) for 135 da ys. The initial dosage of pinacidil was 12.5 mg twice daily. The dosag e was increased to 25 mg twice daily if diastolic blood pressure remai ned >90 mm Hg after 30 days. If blood pressure was still not controlle d in 30 days, HCTZ 12.5 mg twice daily could be added. If target blood pressure was not reached after 30 days of combination therapy, the re gimen was increased to pinacidil 25 mg twice daily plus HCTZ 12.5 mg t wice daily, In addition, HCTZ could be added at any time if peripheral edema developed. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures decreased sig nificantly after 30 days of treatment from 162.1 +/- 14.1 mm Hg (mean +/- SD) and 102.1 +/- 5.0 mm Hg to 153.2 +/- 14.9 mm Hg and 92.8 +/- 9 .0 mm Hg, respectively. Some additional benefit was observed during th e following months of drug administration, Systolic and diastolic bloo d pressures mere 140.5 +/- 11.4 mm Hg and 84.3 +/- 6.7 mm Hg, respecti vely, at the end of the study. At that time, 32 patients (32.7%) were receiving pinacidil only, 12.5 mg twice daily; 20 patients (20.4%) mer e receiving pinacidil 25 mg twice daily; and 46 patients (46.9%) were receiving pinacidil and HCTZ twice daily, HCTZ was added for incomplet e blood pressure control in 15 patients (32.6%) and for peripheral ede ma in 31 patients (67.4%). The addition of HCTZ to pinacidil reduced t he incidence of edema from 65.4% to 15.2%. The results of this study s uggest that pinacidil was associated with a significant reduction in s ystolic and diastolic blood pressures in patients with mild-to-moderat e hypertension. The high incidence of peripheral edema was largely red uced by the addition of HCTZ.