Antihypertensive efficacy and safety of losartan alone and in combination with hydrochlorothiazide in adult African Americans with mild to moderate hypertension.

BACKGROUND: African Americans with hypertension, particularly those with more severe blood pressure elevations, are generally less responsive to monotherapy from any antihypertensive class. These patients usually require treatment with drugs from > or = 2 antihypertensive classes to achieve adequate blood pressure control.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the antihypertensive efficacy and safety of losartan alone and in combination with hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) in African American adults with mild to moderate hypertension.

METHODS: In this 12-week, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study, African American patients were randomized in a 3:3:1 ratio to I of 3 treatment groups: placebo, losartan monotherapy (50 to 150 mg), or losartan plus HCTZ (50/0 to 50/12.5 to 100/25 mg). Doses were titrated at weeks 4 and 8 if sitting diastolic blood pressure (SiDBP) was > or = 90 mm Hg. Safety was assessed by determining the incidence of clinical and laboratory Adverse events and evaluating mean changes in pulse, body weight, electrocardiographic parameters, and laboratory test results.

RESULTS: A total of 440 patients were randomized-188 to placebo, 193 to losartan monotherapy, and 59 to losartan/HCTZ; 391 completed the study. At week 12, the response rate with losartan monotherapy was 45.8%, with a significant (P < or = 0.01) lowering in mean SiDBP by 6.6 mm Hg compared with placebo; the response rate with placebo was 27.2%, with a mean SiDBP reduction of 3.9 mm Hg. Sitting systolic blood pressure (SiSBP) was significantly lowered with losartan monotherapy, by 6.4 mm Hg, compared with placebo (reduction of 2.3 mm Hg). The response rate with losartan/ HCTZ was 62.7%, with reductions in SiSBP and SiDBP of 16.8 mm Hg and 10.8 mm Hg, respectively (P < or = 0.01 vs placebo and losartan monotherapy). The incidence of clinical adverse events was comparable in the 3 treatment groups.

CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that in African American patients, losartan monotherapy was significantly more effective than placebo in lowering SiSBP and SiDBP. Moreover, the losartan/ HCTZ combination regimen resulted in significant and clinically meaningful additional reductions in SiSBP and SiDBP compared with losartan monotherapy or placebo. Losartan monotherapy and the losartan/HCTZ regimens were generally as well tolerated as placebo.