[The 24-hour-effect of bisoprolol on blood pressure at rest and during stress]

In a multi-center study, 188 patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension were treated with the beta-1 selective beta blocker bisoprolol. Treatment was started with 5 mg bisoprolol once a day; if the aim of therapy, namely normalising (less than or equal to 90 mmHg) the diastolic blood pressure at rest (DBP-R) 24 hours after drug intake was not achieved, the dose was increased every two weeks to a maximum of 20 mg. With the individual dose established in this way, the patients were admitted to long-term treatment that was scheduled to last one year. Prior to and during bisoprolol therapy, bicycle ergometry studies were carried out up to a maximum of 100 watts. After only two weeks on 5 mg bisoprolol, both resting and exercise blood pressures were clearly reduced. By means of success-related dose increments, normalisation of the DBP-R was achieved in 79% of the patients by the end of the 6th week. The percentage of patients manifesting load-positive blood pressure reactions during exercise was reduced from 63 to 18%. On conclusion of one year of treatment, 33%, 56% and 11% of the patients were receiving 5 mg, 10 mg and 20 mg bisoprolol, respectively. On the basis of subjective and objective parameters, including laboratory examinations, bisoprolol was seen to be well tolerated even over the long term.