Comparison of indapamide with thiazide diuretics in patients with essential hypertension

The effect of the new diuretic antihypertensive drug, indapamide (2.5 mg a day), was compared with the effect of thiazide diuretics in 24 patients with hypertension (seven of whom were receiving a diuretic alone, six were taking a beta-blocker plus a diuretic, and 11 received other combinations of drugs, including a diuretic in all cases). The randomized crossover study with two six-week phases indicated that indapamide is an effective hypotensive agent with potency similar to that of the thiazide diuretics in lowering the blood pressure and in increasing the excretion of potassium.