Amlodipine: Effective for Treatment of Mild to Moderate Essential Hypertension and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy

• Published in: Cardiology Vol. 96; no. Suppl 1; pp. 10 - 18
• Main Authors: Islim, Ismail F., Watson, Robert D., Ihenacho, H.N.C., Ebanks, Mike, Singh, Shyam P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland S. Karger AG 01.01.2001
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Amlodipine - adverse effects; Amlodipine - pharmacology; Amlodipine - therapeutic use; Antihypertensive Agents - adverse effects; Antihypertensive Agents - pharmacology; Antihypertensive Agents - therapeutic use; Blood Pressure - drug effects; Echocardiography; Female; Heart Rate - drug effects; Humans; Hypertension - diagnostic imaging; Hypertension - drug therapy; Hypertension - physiopathology; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular - diagnostic imaging; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular - drug therapy; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular - physiopathology; Male; Middle Aged; Severity of Illness Index; Treatment Outcome; Amlodipine; Essential hypertension; Left ventricular hypertrophy
• ISBN: 380557309X; 9783805573092
• ISSN: 0008-6312; 1421-9751
• DOI: 10.1159/000049096

This was a 20-week, open-label, uncontrolled clinical investigation of the long-acting calcium antagonist amlodipine in 33 male or female patients with essential hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). A once-daily dose (5–10 mg/day) of amlodipine provided a consistent antihypertensive effect, reducing the sitting diastolic (–13.8% change) and systolic (–13.0% change) blood pressures by clinically meaningful and statistically significant (p = 0.0001, n = 33) amounts. Amlodipine had no effect on heart rate. A significant regression in LVH was seen (left ventricular mass index reduced from 169.0 [SD 30.7] g/m 2 to 140.6 [SD 19.6] g/m 2 , p < 0.01, n = 12). There was also a significant reduction in total peripheral resistance and improvement in left ventricular diastolic filling (E/A ratio increased from 0.86 pre-treatment to 1.03 post-treatment, p = 0.038, n = 12). These results are consistent with other studies in showing that a relatively short treatment regimen with amlodipine is associated with a significant reduction in left ventricular mass index.