Effect of fosinopril sodium on early carotid atherosclerosis in diabetic patients with hypertension.

An increased thickness of the carotid artery wall is thought to be a sign of early atherosclerosis. We have investigated the effects of fosinopril sodium in asymptomatic diabetic hypertensive subjects on the 12-month progression of arterial wall thickness. Forty non-insulin-dependent diabetics with hypertension and without hyperlipidemia were studied. After a 4-week run-in-diet phase, oral fosinopril sodium was administered (20 mg once daily) to 20 patients randomly selected, while 20 subjects were treated only with diet. The two groups were matched for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), duration of diabetes and glycemic control. Arterial wall thickness was measured as the mean of the maximum intimal-media thickness (IMT) in 16 carotid segments by B-mode ultrasound. The IMT increase over 12 months was 4.3% in the fosinopril sodium group vs 15.1% in subjects with diet. We conclude that fosinopril sodium treatment may be useful in decreasing the progression rate.