Antihypertensive effects of tertatolol. A comparative study versus atenolol.

The purpose of this study was to compare the antihypertensive efficacy and tolerance of tertatolol and atenolol. Sixty-one ambulatory patients with uncomplicated mild to moderate hypertension (diastolic blood pressure (DBP) between 95 and 120 mm Hg) received, following a randomized allocation, either 5 mg tertatolol (T) (n = 30) or 100 mg atenolol (A) (n = 31) in single daily dose. After a one-month single-blind placebo run-in period, the two drugs were administered double-blind over a 3 month period. Blood pressure (BP) and heart rate were measured before, and after the first and third months. Electrocardiographic and biological data were collected respectively before and at the third month. At each consultation, patients were asked to report any side effects. Atenolol and tertatolol were similar in controlling BP: the decrease in supine systolic blood pressure (SBP) reached 24.2 mm Hg (P less than .001) in group T and 21.7 mm Hg in group A (P less than .001), and the decrease in DBP reached 16.6 mm Hg in group T (P less than .001) and 16.8 mm Hg in group A (P less than .001). Supine heart rate (HR) fell by 15.5 beats/min and 14.8 beats/min in the T and A groups, respectively (P less than .001). At the end of the trial, blood pressure control (DBP less than or equal to 90 mm Hg) was obtained in 80% and 70% of the patients in the T and A groups, respectively. The clinical tolerance of both drugs was satisfactory with 8 slight and transient complaints in T group, and 14 complaints with one treatment-related withdrawal at the second month in A group. Electrocardiographic and biochemical variations were not significantly different in the two groups. We conclude that the antihypertensive efficacy of 5 mg tertatolol is comparable to that of 100 mg atenolol, with a similar clinical and biochemical tolerance.