24-Hour Blood Pressure Control with the Once-Daily Calcium Antagonist Amlodipine

Abstract

The efficacy and toleration of once-daily amlodipine (5-10 mg) was studied in 11 patients with mild to moderate hypertension. Continuous intra-arterial blood pressure monitoring was used to study the effects of amlodipine over a 24-h period. Following a 2-week placebo run-in period, amlodipine was given initially as a single-blind 5-mg dose for 2 weeks and increased to 10 mg if required to control blood pressure for a further 4 weeks. Twenty-four-hour intra-arterial blood pressure recordings made after 6 weeks of treatment with amlodipine revealed that amlodipine effectively reduced blood pressure throughout the whole 24-h period without altering the normal circadian pattern. The mean daytime blood pressure was reduced from 165/103 to 147/89 mm Hg (p