Pressure and microcirculatory effects of treatment with lercanidipine in hypertensive patients and in vascular patients with hypertension

The aim of this study was to evaluate the macrocirculatory and microcircula tory effects of treatment with lercanidipine, a new antihypertensive agent acting both on blood pressure and microcirculation in patients with moderat e essential hypertension and without vascular disease and in patient with h ypertension and vascular disease. In hypertensive subjects target-organ damage associated with high blood pre ssure may now be objectively documented by noninvasive tests. These alterat ions constitute a model to evaluate not only the pressure effects of antihy pertensive treatment but also the normalization of the peripheral microcirc ulatory network. With color duplex scanning, flow velocity in the central retinal artery and retinal flow velocity can be measured and with use of laser-Doppler-flowme try, it is also possible to evaluate microcirculation alterations in hypert ensive subjects. These evaluation methods are completely noninvasive and ma y be used to assess the microcirculatory effects of antihypertensive drugs.