[Use of prazosin in patients with hypertension]

Clinical trials of the alpha-adreno-blocker prazosin (Pratsiol as produced by "Orion", Finland) were carried out in 42 patients with essential hypertension, stages 2-3 by WHO classification, and 3 patients with nephrogenic hypertension. Daily doses of the drug varied between 3 and 20 mg. Good hypotensive effect was noted in 51% of patients whose cardiac index had not originally exceeded 4.5 r/min/m2 and showed no basic rise under the effect of treatment, total peripheral resistance was never below 1200 din X sec X cm-5, and heart rate kept below 80 beats per minute. In cases of higher cardiac index and heart rate values, prazosin had little or no effect. A daily dose of 8-10 mg may be considered an optimum regimen. Sinus tachycardia was the most common of side-effects. The drug was particularly effective where hypertension was combined with bradycardia.