Effects of antihypertensive drugs on large artery compliance

The changes in arterial compliance following drug treatment have been studied mainly in hypertension. Physiologically, reduced arterial compliance independently affects blood pressure through an increase in systolic pressure and a decrease in diastolic pressure at any given value of mean arterial pressure. This review summarizes the pharmacological studies performed in recent years on the ability of antihypertensive drugs to modify arterial compliance. For the same decrease in mean arterial pressure, antihypertensive drugs may have differential effects improving arterial compliance (calcium channel blockers, converting enzyme inhibitors, alpha-blockers and some beta-blockers) or causing no change (dihydralazine, diuretics, propranolol) with resulting consequences on cardiac structure and function.