Antihypertensive treatment with bopindolol alone or combined with a diuretic in general practice

beta blockers are now well established as alternative first-line drugs for treating hypertension. Bopindolol is a new beta blocker with a long duration of action and antihypertensive properties at low dosage. To assess the blood pressure (BP) lowering effect and tolerance of bopindolol, 590 hypertensive patients with diastolic BP greater than or equal to 100 mm Hg (age 22-78 years; mean +/- SD, 51 +/- 10) were evaluated prospectively by a study group of 248 practicing physicians. Following discontinuation of previous antihypertensive drugs for 4 weeks and/or a 2-week placebo phase, bopindolol 1 mg/day was given for 12 weeks. Bopindolol dose was decreased to 0.5 mg/day if diastolic BP after 8 weeks was less than or equal to 85 mm Hg; chlorthalidone 12.5-25 mg/day was added if diastolic BP was greater than or equal to 95 mm Hg after 4 or 8 weeks of bopindolol monotherapy. Compared to placebo, BP was lowered (p less than 0.0001) by bopindolol monotherapy (n = 273) from 159/104 +/- 14/4 to 139/89 +/- 12/6 mm Hg, by combination treatment (n = 288) from 165/108 +/- 16/6 to 145/95 +/- 16/7 mm Hg. Diastolic BP was reduced to less than 95 mm Hg by bopindolol 0.5 or 1 mg/day in 241 patients, by combination treatment in 150 patients. Bopindolol-induced absolute or percentage decreases in systolic or diastolic BP correlated with pretreatment BP (r = 0.22-0.51, p less than 0.001), but not with age (r = -0.05 to 0.08).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)