Strategies to meet lower blood pressure goals with a new standard in angiotensin II receptor blockade.

The continued poor rates of blood pressure (BP) control to the recommended target BP of <140/90 mm Hg in patients with hypertension indicate a persistent need for improved antihypertensive therapy. Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) constitute the newest approved class of antihypertensive agents. As with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, ARBs block the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, but do so through a more specific mechanism. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors block the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II, but angiotensin II may be produced by several alternate pathways. Angiotensin II receptor blockers, by contrast, inhibit the binding of angiotensin II to the angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor, independent of the pathway of angiotensin II production. Comparative safety and efficacy trials indicate that ARBs are similar to other antihypertensive drugs in terms of BP-lowering effectiveness and have superior tolerability. Olmesartan medoxomil is the newest and one of the most effective of the ARBs. In controlled trials, it has been shown to provide 24-h BP control with antihypertensive efficacy at least as good as that of the calcium channel blockers amlodipine besylate and felodipine and the beta-blocker atenolol. In a comparative study, olmesartan medoxomil demonstrated significantly greater reductions in diastolic BP than did three other leading ARBs-losartan potassium, irbesartan, and valsartan. With the convenience of placebo-like tolerability and once-daily dosing, combined with excellent antihypertensive efficacy, olmesartan medoxomil may be a useful addition to our management of hypertension.