Antihypertensive treatment should provide optimal health benefits while min
imizing treatment costs. Most patients require a combination of drugs to ac
hieve blood pressure goals. Two studies have shown that switching to fixed-
dose combination therapy is effective, well tolerated, and cost-effective f
or most patients. A fixed-dose combination agent containing a diuretic and
a beta -blocker, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, or an angioten
sin II receptor antagonist is generally more effective, better tolerated, a
nd does not cost more than the non-diuretic component. Therefore, the assoc
iated health-care resource costs of using these fixed-dose combination prod
ucts should be less than those associated with the use of monotherapy. (C)
2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.