Once daily beta-blocker in hypertension--oxprenolol slow-release

In a within-patient comparison of conventional oxprenolol administered twice daily with slow-release oxprenolol administered once daily in the treatment of hypertension, twenty patients previously responsive to beta-blockers took each formulation for 4 weeks, after wash-out periods off beta-blocker of 2 weeks' duration. The order of administration of the two forms was randomized, and sixteen patients continued medication with cyclopenthiazide 0.5 mg daily. Blood pressure levels at the end of the 4-week treatment periods were compared with levels at the end of the preceding 2-week wash-out periods. Both formulations lowered blood pressure and pulse rate significantly. There was no difference in their effects on pulse rate or on blood pressure, whether measured by the doctors using standard sphygmomanometers or by the hypertension sister using a random-zero sphygmomanometer. In four patients who measured their own blood pressures at home each morning (before medications), afternoon and night, mean levels were similar with the two formulations. Both formulations were very well tolerated.