[Use of Albetol for treating hypertension patients]

The drug albetol (labetalol) was used in 97 patients with stage I-III essential hypertension (according to the WHO classification) and 13 patients with stable arterial hypertension of renal genesis. Albetol exerted a marked hypotensive effect beginning from the 2-3d day of the treatment and peaking on the 6-8th day of the treatment. To normalize the blood pressure, the patients with labile hypertension were given the drug in a dose of 200-400 mg/day whilst in the patients with a stable course the dose used was 600-2200 mg/day (858 mg/day on the average). In patients with the hyperkinetic type of the hemodynamics the blood pressure decreased following albetol administration at the expense of a reduction in the cardiac index and the heart rate whereas in patients with the hypokinetic type it was achieved mostly at the expense of a decreased vascular resistance to the blood flow. The drug was effective in 69% of the patients, it was well tolerated and induced no side effects.