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Published on: May 26, 2022

Irbesartan improves arterial compliance more than lisinopril

Khalid Ali1, Chakravarthi Rajkumar, Francesco Fantin

  • 1Academic Department of Geriatrics, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, UK. khalid.ali@bsuh.nhs.uk

Vascular Health and Risk Management
|August 4, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Irbesartan significantly improved arterial compliance in both elastic and muscular arteries. Lisinopril, however, only improved compliance in elastic arteries, indicating differential effects of these antihypertensive agents.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Pharmacology

Background:

  • Antihypertensive agents are known to reduce arterial stiffness.
  • Arterial compliance is a key indicator of cardiovascular health.
  • Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) and angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) are common classes of antihypertensive drugs.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effects of irbesartan (an ARB) and lisinopril (an ACEI) on arterial compliance.
  • To compare the efficacy of irbesartan and lisinopril in improving arterial stiffness in hypertensive patients.

Main Methods:

  • A randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, controlled crossover trial was conducted.
  • Fifteen hypertensive patients received either irbesartan or lisinopril for 12 weeks, followed by a crossover period.
  • Pulse wave velocity (PWV) was measured in the carotid-femoral (CF), carotid-radial (CR), and femoral dorsalis-pedis (FD) arteries.

Main Results:

  • Both irbesartan and lisinopril reduced systolic blood pressure (SBP).
  • Irbesartan and lisinopril significantly reduced PWV in the elastic arteries (CF).
  • Irbesartan demonstrated significant reductions in PWV for both elastic (CR) and muscular (FD) arteries, while lisinopril did not show significant effects on CR and FD PWV after SBP adjustment.

Conclusions:

  • Irbesartan effectively improved arterial compliance in both elastic and muscular arterial systems.
  • Lisinopril improved arterial compliance primarily in the elastic arteries.
  • The findings suggest differential effects of ARBs and ACEIs on arterial stiffness beyond blood pressure reduction.
Abstract

Keywords:
ACE inhibitorsangiotensin receptor blockersarterial compliancehypertension

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