Enhanced blood pressure-lowering effect of olmesartan in hypertensive patients with chronic kidney disease-associated sympathetic hyperactivity: HONEST study

Efficacy and safety of a combination antihypertensive drug (olmesartan plus azelnidipine): "Issues with hypertension studies in real-world practice"

Background: This study investigated whether a combination drug containing an angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) and a calcium channel blocker (CCB) could provide effective antihypertensive therapy.Methods: A multicenter, prospective, open-label study was conducted at the clinics of Clinical Research Network. The subjects had uncontrolled blood pressure (BP) despite ARB or CCB monotherapy. The effect on both office and home BP was examined after patients switched to a combination drug (REZ: containing 20 mg of olmesartan [OL] and 16 mg of azelnidipine [AZ]).Results: A total of 78 patients were enrolled. After switching to REZ, a significant and sustained reduction of office BP was observed. The proportion of patients who achieved the target for both office and home BP was an increase from 0% to 55%. Switching from amlodipine to REZ resulted in a significant and sustained decrease of office and home BP. There was also a significant decrease of home pulse rate (PR), but office PR was unchanged. To determine the accuracy of the BP and PR values reported by patients, the frequency of each number as the first digit was determined. The frequency of "0" was extremely high for both office and home BP values, and the same was noted for home PR values.Conclusion: The results of this study suggested that switching from a single drug to combination therapy with REZ could achieve a stronger antihypertensive effect. However, concern was raised regarding the methods of BP and PR measurement and recording in this clinical trial involving general practitioners.

Persistent olmesartan-based blood pressure-lowering effects on morning hypertension in Asians: the HONEST study

Using data from the large-scale HONEST (Home blood pressure measurement with Olmesartan Naive patients to Establish Standard Target blood pressure) study, we investigated the characteristics of the effects of olmesartan-based treatment on morning hypertension in Asian hypertensive patients. Specifically, we investigated the relationship between baseline blood pressure (BP) and BP reduction after 16 weeks by linear regression analyses; determinants of BP reduction were also investigated. For both morning home BP (MHBP) and clinic BP (CBP), reduced systolic BP (SBP) after 16 weeks was associated with baseline SBP (P<0.001). The slope of the regression lines was similar for morning home SBP (MHSBP) (-0.744) and clinic SBP (-0.735). Although sex, concomitant diabetes mellitus and concomitant hepatic disease significantly influence the relationship between BP reduction and baseline BP for MHSBP, none were deemed clinically relevant. In conclusion, olmesartan-based treatment robustly reduced baseline high MHBP, similar to CBP, and the effect was associated with baseline BP but unaffected by patient background factors.

Effect of Olmesartan-Based Therapies on Therapeutic Indicators Obtained Through Out-of-Office Blood Pressure

Ambulatory blood pressure (BP) correlates more significantly with hypertension-associated cardiovascular mortality and morbidity than BP obtained in the doctor's office. Assessing ambulatory BP, either through 24-h monitoring or through protocolized self-measurement at home, is essential in diagnosing and monitoring patients with hypertension. Several ambulatory BP-derived indicators are related with cardiovascular prognosis. These include 24-h, daytime and nighttime BP measurements, BP measurements obtained through home self-measurement, dipping status, morning surge, and BP variability. The objective of this article was to review the effect of olmesartan-based antihypertensive therapy on the main risk variables obtained when assessing ambulatory BP.

Autonomic nervous system dysregulation in pediatric hypertension

Historically, primary hypertension (HTN) has been prevalent typically in adults. Recent data however, suggests an increasing number of children diagnosed with primary HTN, mainly in the setting of obesity. One of the factors considered in the etiology of HTN is the autonomous nervous system, namely its dysregulation. In the past, the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) was regarded as a system engaged mostly in buffering major acute changes in blood pressure (BP), in response to physical and emotional stressors. Recent evidence suggests that the SNS plays a much broader role in the regulation of BP, including the development and maintenance of sustained HTN by a chronically elevated central sympathetic tone in adults and children with central/visceral obesity. Consequently, attempts have been made to reduce the SNS hyperactivity, in order to intervene early in the course of the disease and prevent HTN-related complications later in life.