Loading...
Clinicians have flexibility in choosing among drugs for hypertension; sometimes such choices are arbitrary, and sometimes they reflect attempts to individualize treatment based on patients' demographic or clinical characteristics. In this randomized trial, researchers compared three commonly prescribed two-drug combinations in about 600 black patients (mean age, 51) with mild-to-moderate hypertension from six sub-Saharan African countries. Mean baseline office blood pressure (BP) was 158/98 mm Hg; mean 24-hour ambulatory BP was 147/89 mm Hg. The following three initial regimens were compared:
5-mg amlodipine plus 12.5-mg hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ)
5-mg amlodipine plus 4-mg perindopril
4-mg perindopril plus 12.5-mg HCTZ
Doses were doubled at 2 m…