Long-term treatment of hypertension with felodipine

Hypertensive patients who had previously taken part in double-blind, controlled studies were treated with open-label felodipine for 1 year: 377 had felodipine added to a beta-blocker and 94 were receiving monotherapy. In the first group, supine blood pressure (BP), measured at the beginning of the double-blind period, was reduced from 172 +/- 23/107 +/- 8 to 140 +/- 20/86 +/- 8 mm Hg at the end of 1 year of therapy. In the monotherapy group, BP was reduced from 170 +/- 22/101 +/- 7 mm Hg measured before treatment to 149 +/- 17/90 +/- 9 mm Hg after 1 year. The most common adverse experiences that led to withdrawal were peripheral edema, headache, flushing, and dizziness. No development of tolerance was noted.