Does Hypertensive Patients are More Susceptible to the Risk of Drug-Drug Interactions?

Abstract

Drug-Drug Interactions (DDIs) are the main problem among patients treated with multidrug therapy. Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD) consider the main cause of all morbidities and mortalities in universal. The major cause of CVDs death is hypertension. Clinical trials have reported that the treatment of hypertension minimizes CVD cases and all reason of mortality. Hypertensive patients are especially suspectable to DDIs due to their age, polypharmacy, comorbid conditions, long hospital stay and the presence of a drug therapy for other comorbid conditions that arise as a complication of long‑term hypertension. This article reviews different case studies evaluating DDIs in hypertensive elderly patients with polypharmacy. The most generally prescribed drug group that observed mostly in all case studies are: antihypertensives, Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug (NSAIDs), antidiabetics, antibiotics, antihistaminic, cardiac glycosides, calcium supplements, antimicrobial, Central Nervous System (CNS) depressant, thiazide diuretics, Lipid lowering drug, antigout, anticoagulants, analgesics, antibacterial and antianxiety. DDIs checker tool used in different case studies are REAX-Micromedex, Beers Criteria, Lexi-Interact software and Medscape checker software. The common interacting drug pairs among the antihypertensive drugs were atenolol-amlodipine, furosemide-telmisartan, furosemide-enalapril, furosemide-atenolol and metoprolol-amlodipine. Both pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics type of DDIs were found in most cases but with different rates. The severity of DDIs was mainly significant and moderate. The prevalence of DDIs was differ from case to case depend on drug pair used and clinical disorder in each case. The majority of DDIs can be addressed through the dosage adjustment and lab monitoring of patient. This is particularly significant in the case of accompanying medication with various groups of antihypertensive drugs.