A large scale study in general practice was set up to investigate the effects, of transferring hypertensive patients from treatment with usually less than 1 g daily of methyldopa to atenolol ('Tenormin') 100 mg daily.
The results demonstrate an improvement in blood pressure control with atenolol treatment and a reduction in the incidence of side-effects. The simple dosage regime, combined with proven effectiveness and a relative lack of side-effects makes atenolol a useful treatment for the hypertensive patient.
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