[Basic principles and possible variations in combination antihypertensive therapy]

The drug monotherapy of hypertension is successful in about half of the patients. The occurrence of relevant side-effects usually leads to a new treatment with an antihypertensive drug of another substance category (= sequential monotherapy). However, if normotension is not achieved despite good tolerance, the physician should combine two antihypertensive drugs with different modes of action. Similar to the monotherapy, a treatment procedure individually balanced to the patient-situation of the circulation, risk factors or coexisting diseases -determines success or failure. In the following, useful and clinically reliable combination options with first-line substance categories are described. Under the aspects of economy, pragmatism, and patient compliance, among other things it is dealt with reliable as well as new fixed combination preparations.