Eplerenone: a review of its use in essential hypertension

Eplerenone is a selective aldosterone blocker (SAB) approved for the treatment of essential hypertension. Oral eplerenone reduced BP effectively in patients with essential hypertension, both as monotherapy and in combination with other agents. The drug is generally well tolerated; the risk of hyperkalemia can be managed through careful selection and monitoring of patients. Preliminary data suggest that treatment of hypertension with eplerenone may provide protective effects against end-organ disease; further work is needed to elucidate the clinical significance of these findings, and to evaluate the outcome of treatment of hypertension in terms of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality and quality of life. In the meantime, as the first SAB to become available, eplerenone is an interesting addition to the drugs currently available for the treatment of hypertension.