Antihypertensive utility of perindopril in a large, general practice-based clinical trial

The authors evaluated, in a community-based open-label trial, the effectiveness and safety of perindopril in 13,220 US hypertensive patients and studied how physicians adhere to hypertension treatment guidelines. Patients received perindopril 4 mg q.d. for 6 weeks. Based on physicians perception of blood pressure response, the patient was either maintained on 4 mg or the dose was increased to 8 mg for an additional 6 weeks. From baseline to week 12, the mean sitting blood pressure significantly declined from 156.9/94.5 mm Hg to 139.2/84.0 mm Hg. Further dose titration resulted in a clinically significant reduction in blood pressure in all patients with inadequate response on 4 mg at week 6. Blood pressure control (<140/<90 mm Hg) was achieved at 12 weeks in 48.8% patients. The subpopulation analyses demonstrated that perindopril monotherapy was effective in both men and women, in patients of all ethnicities, and in patients <65 and > or =65 years of age. Perindopril was safe and well tolerated in all hypertensive subgroups including high-risk patients. Physicians were more attuned to controlling diastolic than systolic blood pressure, and their adherence to the treatment guidelines was found to be not optimal.