Effects of additional administration of low-dose indapamide on patients with hypertension treated with angiotensin II receptor blocker.

BACKGROUND

Low-dose thiazide or thiazide-like diuretics have proven useful for the management of blood pressure in patients older than 65 years (elderly group). However, there are few reports about the antihypertensive effects of antihypertensive diuretic agents in patients younger than 65 years (middle-aged group). So, we evaluated the efficacy of low-dose indapamide on blood pressure.

METHODS

Indapamide(1 mg) was given daily for 3 months and was then given every other day for 3 months to patients whose hypertension was poorly controlled with angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB)-based treatment.

RESULTS

After daily administration of indapamide, blood pressure was significantly decreased in both the middle-aged and elderly groups. Blood pressure was not significantly changed by every-other-day administration compared with that observed after daily administration in either group. The rate of attainment of the target blood pressure was 90.3% and 85.7% in the middle-aged and elderly groups, respectively. The serum uric acid levels were reduced after every-other-day administration compared to daily administration but tended to be higher than the levels at the baseline in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The addition of low-dose indapamide is a useful strategy for the management of hypertension, as it reduced blood pressure without marked side effects.