Comparison of cilazapril and nifedipine retard on ambulatory blood pressure, metabolic, rheological and platelet function in hypertensive patients.

In a 12 week randomised, double-blind study, a total of 31 patients with a sitting DBP of between 95 and 115 mmHg were enrolled for comparison of the antihypertensive, metabolic and antiplatelet effects of the drugs cilazapril and nifedipine retard. A two week placebo treatment was given before either cilazapril (2.5 mg daily) or nifedipine retard (20 mg twice daily) was administered. After four weeks treatment, those patients with a sitting DBP > 90 mmHg were given a doubling of their initial doses for the next six weeks; the others were maintained at their initial doses. All patients received their drugs and reported any adverse effects every other week. Blood was taken for metabolic, rheological and platelet function tests. Ambulatory BP and heart rate were recorded at the start, fourth and tenth weeks of study. At the end of this trial, there was a significant decrease in both SBP and DBP in the cilazapril group (155 +/- 14 to 142 +/- 12 mmHg systolic, P < 0.01; 106 +/- 6 to 95 +/- 5 mmHg diastolic, P < 0.01). In the nifedipine group, there was also a significant decrease in SBP and DBP (161 +/- 18 to 139 +/- 5 mmHg, systolic, P < 0.01; 101 +/- 6 to 88 +/- 9 mmHg diastolic, P < 0.05) but with a significant increase in heart rate (79 +/- 14 to 91 +/- 10 beats/minute, P < 0.05). There were no significant changes in the biochemical or metabolic parameters in the two groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)