Retrospective Electronic Medical Records Study to Understand the Usage Patterns and Patient Profiles of Those Prescribed Amlodipine and Its Combinations.

BACKGROUND

Hypertension is a lifestyle disorder with a target blood pressure (BP) <140/90 mmHg. Amlodipine, a calcium channel blocker (CCB), is the first-line choice of treatment. This study aims to assess the effectiveness, tolerability, and treatment pattern of amlodipine or its combinations in patients with hypertension.

METHODOLOGY

This retrospective, electronic medical records (EMR)-based longitudinal study analyzed anonymized data of hypertensive patients with prescriptions for amlodipine or its combinations. The primary aim was to understand the usage patterns, while the secondary goals were to assess effectiveness and tolerability. Outcome measures included changes in mean systolic BP (SBP) and diastolic BP (DBP), and the incidence of pedal edema.

RESULTS

Most of the participants were aged 40 to 64 years (65.47%) and were predominantly male (52.85%). Dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus (DM) were the most common comorbidities. There was a statistically significant reduction in SBP and DBP from visit 1 to visit 2 with amlodipine or its combination therapies (p < 0.001), irrespective of any comorbid condition. Pedal edema occurred in 0.91% of patients, notably lower than the reported 1.7%-32%.

CONCLUSION

Amlodipine or its combinations demonstrated a significant reduction in BP with a very low incidence of pedal edema. Hence, amlodipine shows good tolerability and effectiveness in the Indian population.