Comparison of efficacy of a single daily dose of 400 mg acebutolol and 100 mg atenolol in the treatment of arterial hypertension

Summary

A double-blind, crossover comparison of once-daily acebutolol (400 mg) and once-daily atenolol (100 mg) was carried out in 33 patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension. After 8-weeks’ treatment with acebutolol, the reduction (12%) in mean arterial pressure was, on average, slightly greater than that on atenolol (11%), but the difference was not significant. The mean 22-hour serum concentration of acebutolol plus its acetyl metabolite was 24% of the peak level, whereas that of atenolol wus 12%. Routine laboratory monitoring showed no important changes. Acebutolol gave a statistically significant lesser reduction in pulse rate than atenolol, and a lesser incidence, approaching statistical significance (p<0. 1), of side-effects.

Key Words::

• Atenolol
• acebutolol
• antihypertensive agents
• hypertension