Hypertension combination therapy with rennin-angiotenzin system blockers

Summary

Target blood pressure levels are not being achieved with the current hypertension treatment. Monotherapy that normalizes BP in about 20% of patients does not provide sufficient control to reach this goal and thus combination therapy is required. Results from recent clinical studies showed that a combination of an angiotenzin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi) with a calcium channel blocker (CCB) provide better results and reduced incidence of cardiovascular events than a combination of a diuretic with an ACE inhibitor. Combination therapy based on rennin-angiotenzin system blockade: ACEi with a CCB, ACEi with a diuretic or angiotenzin receptor blocker (AT₁) with a diuretic as a first-line treatment of the stage 2 hypertension might lead to significantly better control of blood pressure than monotherapy.

Key words:
combination of hypertensives – angiotenzin-converting enzyme inhibitor – angiotenzin receptor blocker – diuretics – calcium channel blockers