Twenty-four hour action of ACE inhibitors

A blood pressure recording is strictly speaking only relevant for the circumstances under which it is measured. There is increasing evidence that ambulatory recordings have more predictive power than casual BP recordings and are a better discriminator between high and low risk groups of patients, particularly within the category of mild hypertension. Increasing use is being made of 24 hour ambulatory BP monitoring as a means of assessing hypotensive therapy. The effects of monotherapy with the ACE inhibitor perindopril (8 mg once daily) on 24 hour ambulatory intra-arterial BP demonstrated that after six weeks' treatment there is a significant reduction in ambulatory BP, as compared with the placebo period, without any associated reflex tachycardia. We conclude that perindopril is an effective anti-hypertensive agent reducing BP throughout the 24 hour period.