Comparative study on the antihypertensive efficacy of torasemide and indapamide in patients with essential...

In a double-blind randomized multicenter study the antihypertensive efficacy of 2.5 mg torasemide (1- isopropyl-3-([4-(3-methyl-phenylamino)pyridine]-3-sulfony)urea) and 2.5 mg indapamide was compared in patients with essential hypertension, known as responders to diuretic therapy. After a wash-out period of 4 weeks patients with a sitting diastolic blood pressure of 100-115 mmHg were included in the 12-weeks active treatment period. After 4 weeks of treatment with a once daily 2.5 mg dose of each drug, doses could once be doubled if blood-pressure decrease was considered to be insufficient. 66 patients qualified for the statistical evaluation, 32 in the torasemide group and 34 in the indapamide group. In these patients both drugs caused a similar fall in blood pressure leading to a normalization of blood pressure in most of the patients. Serum parameters remained within normal limits. Only serum potassium was significantly lower with 2.5 mg indapamide compared to 2.5 mg torasemide at the end of the study. No side effects were reported for both drugs. As the lowest effective dose of a diuretic should be used for the treatment of hypertensive patients, 2.5 mg torasemide, which is below the threshold dose for significantly enhanced diuresis, seems to be the recommended dose for antihypertensive treatment.