Safety and efficiency of valsartan and combination of valsartan plus hydrochlorothiazide for high blood pressure

The essential hypertension is one of the most common cardiovascular risk factors in adult population. The duration of hypertension influences the risk of stroke, heart failure, atherosclerosis, and kidney disease. Diuretics, beta blockers, calcium-antagonists, ACE-inhibitors, and sartans may be used to treat arterial hypertension. In this study, the efficacy and safety of a prompt pharmacologic treatment with valsartan (VAL) or combination of valsartan plus hydrochlorothiazide (VAL/HYCT) in middle aged population was demonstrate with the most frequent cardiovascular risk factors. The results of the 4 months study period showed that treatment with VAL or VAL/HYCT in middle aged 1059 patients significantly reduce the systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Average systolic and diastolic blood pressure were lowered from 161.2 (±16.5) and 92.9 (±9.5) mmHg to 136.1 (±12.5) and 81.6 (±7.8) mmHg, respectively. Side effects were observed only in few patients: elevated serum creatinine (4.6%), elevation of HbA1c (1%) and serum potassium values (0.3%). It may be concluded that VAL or VAL/HYCT is safe and very effective potent antihypertensive drug.   Key words: Valsartan, hydrochlorothiazide, high blood pressure.