[A multicenter study of lisinopril in the treatment of mild to moderate hypertension].

The efficacy, tolerability and impact on quality of life of the ACE inhibitor lisinopril were evaluated in a 12-week open, multicenter post-marketing surveillance study. 233 patients, 45 years and over with diastolic blood pressure (DBP) 95-105 mm Hg were followed after a washout period of 7 days. 22 withdrew due either to adverse reactions, mainly cough (4.3%) and dizziness (3%), or noncompliance. DBP of 90 mm Hg or less was achieved in 50.7% with once-a-day 10 mg lisinopril, in 26.1% with 20 mg and in 16.1% with 20 mg plus addition of hydrochlorothiazide, 12.5 mg; in only 7.1% was BP not controlled. Adverse reactions other than cough or dizziness were experienced by fewer than 1%. Dartmouth COOP Functional Health Assessment Charts/WONCA were used to evaluate quality of life and were found useful in the study. Compared to baseline assessments, all functional status indicators (physical fitness, feelings, daily activities, social activities, change in health and overall health) scored significantly better in all treated patients after 12 weeks. Thus, in more than 90% of patients lisinopril was well-tolerated, highly effective in lowering blood pressure and possibly (no control group) improved the quality of life of all patients.