Treatment of mild chronic congestive heart failure with ibopamine, hydrochlorothiazide, ibopamine plus hydrochlorothiazide or placebo. A double-blind comparative study.

This multicentre, double-blind, double-dummy, randomised parallel group study in 247 patients with mild chronic congestive heart failure compared the efficacy and tolerability of ibopamine, hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ), ibopamine plus HCTZ and placebo during an 8-week treatment period. The combination of ibopamine and HCTZ resulted in a significantly greater reduction in body weight (p less than 0.05) than HCTZ alone. Trends in favour of the combination as compared to ibopamine or HCTZ alone and in favour of ibopamine as compared to HCTZ were observed. All active treatments were superior to placebo. All active treatments were well tolerated. There was a trend towards a higher incidence of hypokalemia in patients treated with HCTZ, alone or in combination, compared to those receiving ibopamine alone or placebo.