By Alisdair Stirling
A fixed-dose combination of olmersartan and amlodipine reduces blood pressure and is well-tolerated by patients, according to a primary care trial.
An observational study in more than 8,000 hypertensive patients found a combination of olmesartan and amlodipine reduced blood pressure, with few patients reporting adverse side effects.
50% of patients in a German primary care database received olmesartan 20mg and amlodipine 5mg, 30% received olmesartan 40mg and amlodipine 5mg, and 20% received olmesartan 40mg and amlodipine mg at baseline.
Blood pressure at baseline was 161.8mm/93.6mm Hg diastolic, but after eighteen weeks the average observed blood pressure reduction was 29.0mm Hg systolic and 10.9mm Hg diastolic blood pressure.
69.4% of patients had a blood pressure of below 140/90mm Hg, and 2.8% of patients reported adverse drug reactions.
It is thought new UK hypertension guidance expected soon will recommend more widespread use of fixed dose combinations.
Study leader Dr Peter Bramlage, a researcher at the Institute for Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Epidemiology in Mahlow, Germany, concluded: ‘The fixed dose olmesartan amlodipine combination was effective and well tolerated in an unselected population of patients in primary care practice. These results confirm prior randomised controlled trial evidence.'
Vas Health Risk Manag 2010 Sep 7;6:803-11.
