Effectiveness of initiating treatment with valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide in
patients with stage-1 or stage-2 hypertension.
Author(s): Zappe DH, Palmer BF, Calhoun DA, Purkayastha D, Samuel R, Jamerson KA.
Affiliation(s): Clinical Development & Medical Affairs, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation,
East Hanover, NJ, USA. dion.zappe@novartis.com
Publication date & source: 2010, J Hum Hypertens. , 24(7):483-91
This prospective, 6-week, multicenter, double-blind study examined the benefits
of initiating treatment with combination valsartan/hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ)
compared with initial valsartan monotherapy for 648 patients with stage-1 or
stage-2 hypertension (age=52.6+/-10 years; 54% male; baseline blood pressure
(BP)=161/98 mm Hg, 32% stage 1). Patients were randomized to valsartan 80 mg
(V-low), valsartan 160 mg (V-high) or valsartan/HCTZ 160/12.5 mg (V/HCTZ), and
electively titrated after weeks 2 and 4 to the next dosage level (maximum dose
valsartan/HCTZ 160/25 mg) if BP remained >140/90 mm Hg. At end of the study,
patients initiated with V/HCTZ required less titration steps compared with the
initial valsartan monotherapy groups (63 vs 86% required titration by study end,
respectively) and reached the target BP goal of <140/90 mm Hg in a shorter period
of time (2.8 weeks) (P<0.0001) vs V-low (4.3 weeks) and V-high (3.9 weeks).
Initial combination therapy was also associated with higher BP control rates and
greater reductions in both systolic and diastolic BP from baseline (63%,
-27.7+/-13/-15.1+/-8 mm Hg) compared with V-low (46%, -21.2+/-13/-11.4+/-8 mm Hg,
P<0.0001) or V-high (51%, -24.0+/-13/-12.0+/-10 mm Hg, P<0.01). Overall and
drug-related AEs were mild to moderate and were similar between V/HCTZ (53.1 and
14.1%, respectively) and the two monotherapy groups, V-low (50.5 and 13.8%) and
V-high (50.7 and 11.8%). In conclusion, initiating therapy with a combination of
valsartan and low-dose HCTZ results in early, improved BP efficacy with similar
tolerability as compared with starting treatment with a low or higher dose of
valsartan for patients with stage-1 and stage-2 hypertension.
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