aliskiren and Headache

Efficacy of antihypertensive agents on central blood pressure (BP) in African Americans is not well studied. The authors report on an 8-week double-blind, randomized study of African American patients with stage 2 hypertension that compared brachial and central BP responses (substudy of 53 patients) to combination aliskiren/hydrochlorthiazide (HCTZ) and amlodipine monotherapy. Following a 1- to 4-week washout, initial therapy was aliskiren/HCTZ 150/12.5 mg (n=166) or amlodipine 5 mg (n=166) for 1 week, forced-titrated to aliskiren/HCTZ 300/25 mg or amlodipine 10 mg for 7 weeks. Mean seated systolic BP reductions from baseline was similar with both treatments (-28.6 mm Hg with aliskiren/HCTZ vs -28.2 mm Hg with amlodipine). In the substudy, significantly greater reductions in central systolic BP was observed with aliskiren/HCTZ vs amlodipine (-30.1 mm Hg vs -21.2; P=.031), although 24-hour mean ambulatory BP reductions between the two groups were similar. Central pressure is considered an important risk factor in African Americans, and these findings may suggest a new treatment option for these patients.

Topics: Adult; Amides; Amlodipine; Antihypertensive Agents; Black or African American; Blood Pressure; Brachial Artery; Diarrhea; Double-Blind Method; Drug Therapy, Combination; Female; Fumarates; Headache; Humans; Hydrochlorothiazide; Hypertension; Incidence; Male; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Severity of Illness Index; Treatment Outcome

Initial multiple drug therapy for hypertension achieves greater and quicker reductions and higher blood pressure (BP) control rates than monotherapy. This 8-week, prospective, multicenter, randomized, double-blind study compared the efficacy and safety of the initial combination of aliskiren/amlodipine with amlodipine monotherapy in African Americans with stage 2 hypertension. After a 1- to 4-week washout, patients received aliskiren/amlodipine 150/5 mg or amlodipine 5 mg for 1 week and then were force-titrated to aliskiren/amlodipine 300/10 mg or amlodipine 10 mg for 7 weeks. At week 8, greater reductions in mean sitting systolic BP were obtained with aliskiren/amlodipine (n = 220) than with amlodipine (n = 223) (least squares mean change [standard error of the mean], -34.1 [1.14] mm Hg vs -28.9 [1.12] mm Hg; P<.001). Ambulatory and central BP measures were consistent with clinic BP findings, although these were conducted in a small subset of patients (n = 94 in ambulatory BP monitoring substudy and n = 136 for central BP). More patients achieved goal BP (<140/90 mm Hg) with aliskiren/amlodipine than with amlodipine at week 8 (57.3% vs 48.0%; P = .051). Both treatment groups had similar adverse event rates (35.0% and 32.7%, respectively). The most common adverse events were peripheral edema (7.7% with aliskiren/amlodipine and 9.0% with amlodipine), headache, fatigue, and nausea. The combination of aliskiren/amlodipine reduced peripheral, ambulatory, and central BP more than amlodipine alone with similar tolerability in African Americans with stage 2 hypertension.

Topics: Adult; Amides; Amlodipine; Black or African American; Blood Pressure; Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; Double-Blind Method; Drug Therapy, Combination; Edema; Fatigue; Female; Fumarates; Headache; Humans; Hypertension; Incidence; Male; Middle Aged; Prospective Studies; Severity of Illness Index; Treatment Outcome