Open AccessAntihypertensive therapy targeted to the needs of the patient: Focus on the renin‐angiotensin system; Older and Newer Agents
Author(s) -
Itskovitz Harold D.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
clinical cardiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.263
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1932-8737
pISSN - 0160-9289
DOI - 10.1002/clc.4960181506
Subject(s) - medicine , losartan , blood pressure , adverse effect , angiotensin ii receptor type 1 , renin–angiotensin system , pharmacology , pharmacotherapy , angiotensin receptor blockers , drug , agonist , angiotensin converting enzyme , concomitant , intensive care medicine , quality of life (healthcare) , antihypertensive drug , combination therapy , disease , receptor , nursing
Antihypertensive drug therapy can lower blood pressure and prolong life, but many hypertensive patients continue to develop further risk factors and to die prematurely of heart disease. Antihypertensive drugs can also interfere with the patient's quality of life, and many are not compatible with the concomitant medical conditions of the patient and the medications taken to treat them. For these reasons, the antihypertensive therapy selected should meet the specific and complete needs of each patient, not just treat the high blood pressure. An analysis of the drugs that inhibit the renin‐angiotensin system suggests that several of these drugs have a more favorable therapeutic profile than other classes of hypotensive agents. The newly developed receptor‐site‐specific blockers are expected to be tolerated better by hypertensive patients and, consequently, to enhance their quality of life. The first of the new class of nonpeptide blockers of the AT 1 receptor, losartan—which has no partial agonist activity—is likely to have the advantages of the angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitors without their adverse effects, notably cough. In selected patients, the AT 1 ‐receptor blockers could become the drugs of first choice for the management of hypertension.