Valsartan, a new angiotensin II antagonist for the treatment of essential hypertension: efficacy and safety compared to hydrochlorothiazide

Abstract

The data show valsartan 80 mg to be as effective as HCTZ in the treatment of mild-to-moderate hypertension. The results also show valsartan to be well tolerated when taken alone or in combination with atenolol.

Valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide in patients with essential hypertension. A multiple dose, double-blind, placebo controlled trial comparing combination therapy with monotherapy

“…More recently, a new class of orally active antihypertensive drugs has been discovered that specifically blocks type I angiotensin II (AT 1 ) receptors. 1 Valsartan is a new, potent, highly selective angiotensin II AT 1 receptor antagonist belonging to this class, 2 which has been shown to produce clinically relevant and statistically significant decreases in blood pressure (BP) and to be well tolerated at once-daily doses of 80 mg and 160 mg enalapril, 5 lisinopril 6 and hydrochlorothiazide 7 in the treatment of mild to moderate hypertension. These studies have also shown valsartan to be very well tolerated with a good risk:benefit ratio, and without the side effects characteristic of the dihydropyridine calcium antagonists, ACE inhibitors or thiazide diuretics.…”

The human renin infused rat: use as an in vivo model for the biological evaluation of human renin inhibitors

“…of 15 mg/kg; Pals et al 1990) and the AngII receptor antagonist losartan, which has demonstrated clinical efficacy in renin-related cardiovascular disorders (Hegner et al 1997;Lang et al 1997;Pitt et al 1997). Efforts continue towards the identification of potent low molecular weight orally available renin inhibitors .…”

“…Major breakthroughs in this area include the development of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and the angiotensin II receptor antagonists, which are both clinically used as general antihypertensive agents (Brunner et al 1994;Fouad-Tarazi 1994;Opie 1993;Pitt et al 1997;Hegner et al 1997;Lang et al 1997). Another target of the RAS cascade that continues to be actively investigated for possible therapeutic development in the treatment of hypertension is renin (Frishman et al 1994;Jauch et al 1996;Jones et al 1997;Sueirasdiaz et al 1997).…”

Valsartan and atenolol in patients with severe essential hypertension

“…[2][3][4][5] More recently, a novel class of anti-hypertensives has been developed, the angiotensin II receptor antagonists, which specifically and competitively block the AT 1 receptor. 6 Valsartan is a new, orally active, potent and highly selective angiotensin II receptor antagonist 7 which at doses of 80 and 160 mg once daily has been shown to be effective in the treatment of mild to moderate hypertension compared with placebo [8][9][10] and to be safe and well tolerated, lacking the side effects characteristic of the ACE inhibitors. 11 To date all published studies have evaluated the use of valsartan in patients with mild to moderate lol, ؊25.5 mm Hg.…”

“…[8][9][10][11] The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of valsartan in the treatment of patients with severe hypertension, and to compare 160 mg valsartan with a reference anti-hypertensive therapy, 100 mg atenolol, both as initial monotherapy and in combination with other antihypertensive agents.…”