Abstract
One thousand four hundred and two patients with essential hypertension were treated by their general practitioners for 3 months with one tablet daily consisting of 200 mg acebutolol plus 12·5 mg hydrochlorothiazide: 813 were newly diagnosed and 589 were known hypertensives already on treatment. There was no ‘wash-out’ period before the latter changed to the study treatment. Newly diagnosed hypertensives had an average initial mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 129·9 mm Hg which fell on average by 18·2% during the study: 79% of patients had good results with final MAP levels less than 113 mm Hg (equivalent to e.g., 160/90 mm Hg), and a further 7% also had good results in that MAP fell more than 15%, another 12·5% had moderate results (falls of 5% to 15%): and only 1·5% had poor results (fell less than 5%). Known hypertensives had an average MAP of 127 mm Hg on previous treatment, which fell on average by 15·4% during this study: 70% of patients had good results with final MAP levels less than 113 mm Hg and a further 7% also had good results in that MAP fell more than 15%: 18% had moderate results and 3% poor results. Pulse rate fell by 12·5% in newly diagnosed and 10% in known treated hypertensives.
If allowance is made for withdrawals due to side-effects and to the need for more than one tablet of Secadrex daily, then over all 75·7% had a good blood pressure response to study medication, 13·7% a moderate response and 10·7% a poor response.
Adverse effects caused the withdrawal of 4% of newly diagnosed and 5% of treated hypertensives, predominantly nausea/vomiting, lassitude/fatigue and malaise. Adverse symptoms not causing withdrawal occurred in newly diagnosed patients with a frequency of 17·1 per 100 patients prior to the study when untreated and 14·1 during the study: in treated hypertensives the figures were 53·1 per 100 patients on previous treatment and 18·2 during the study.
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