[Study of the efficacy and safety of fosinopril in general practice in 19,435 hypertensive patients (FLIGHT Study)].

The efficacy and good safety of fosinopril, an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor recently made available to the medical profession in France, has been demonstrated by several controlled studies versus placebo and reference antihypertensives. A phase IV multicentre clinical trial was conducted among general practitioners in order to assess, on a larger scale and under conditions of daily practice, the results obtained in terms of blood pressure control and quality of life as well as the clinical and laboratory safety of the drug. This analysis was based on 19,435 hypertensive patients, 989 of whom were over the age of 75 years, followed for 12 weeks after introduction of fosinopril either as monotherapy or in combination with the antihypertensive treatment(s) already prescribed. Under these conditions, after 12 weeks of treatment, blood pressure was controlled in 79.8% of patients, with improvement of all items of the quality of life scale. The very low incidence of clinical and laboratory adverse events, even among the oldest patients, confirms the safety of use of fosinopril, predictive of good long-term compliance with treatment.