Blood pressure and metabolic efficacy of fixed-dose combination of perindopril and indapamide in everyday practice

Abstract

The aim of the PICASSO study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of fixed-dose perindopril 10 mg/indapamide 2.5 mg in everyday medical practice. In this 3-month, open-label, observational study, outpatients with primary hypertension who did not reach the blood pressure goal (< 140/90 mmHg) with antihypertensive treatment were enrolled if their treating physician had planned, as part of their ongoing therapy, to switch them to fixed-dose perindopril 10 mg/indapamide 2.5 mg. Blood pressure, heart rate, and metabolic parameters and – optionally – ambulatory blood pressure were measured. Data from 9257 patients were evaluated. Over the course of 3 months, mean blood pressure decreased from 159/93 mmHg to 132/80 mmHg (p < 0.001) and heart rate decreased from 79 to 73 beats/min (p < 0.001). The target blood pressure was reached by 72.7% of patients. Reductions in total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-c), triglycerides, fasting glucose and uric acid levels were clinically significant. Blood levels of high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-c), sodium and potassium remained unchanged. Beneficial changes in metabolic parameters were primarily attributed to the reduction in therapy with drugs with unfavourable metabolic profiles (thiazides and beta-blockers). Perindopril/indapamide is an effective and safe antihypertensive treatment in everyday medical practice.

Key Words::

• Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring
• combination treatment
• hypertension
• indapamide
• perindopril

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Hélène Dassule, PhD for her editorial support. In addition to Professor Farsang (principal investigator), the PICASSO investigator group included Bela Malomvolgyi, MD (medical advisor) and Norbert Habony, MD (coordinator).

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.