Fixed-combination therapy to improve blood pressure control: experience with olmesartan-based therapy

Abstract

Effective treatment of high blood pressure represents a key strategy for reducing the burden of hypertension-related cardiovascular diseases. In spite of these well-established concepts, hypertension remains poorly controlled worldwide. In addition, treated hypertensive patients often remain at higher risk compared with the normotensive population, even when a satisfactory blood pressure control is achieved, owing to a high or very high added cardiovascular risk profile. An emerging strategy to improve blood pressure control in hypertensive patients is a more extensive use of combination therapy than monotherapy in the daily clinical practice. Within the possible antihypertensive drug combinations currently available for the clinical management of hypertension, those based on the association of drugs inhibiting the renin–angiotensin system and thiazide diuretics or calcium channel-blockers have demonstrated to be effective and safe in lowering both systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels with a good tolerability profile. This article provides an overview of fixed-combination strategies, with a particular focus on the fixed-combination strategies based on olmesartan medoxomil.

Keywords::

• amlodipine besylate
• antihypertensive therapy
• blood pressure control
• calcium-channel blocker
• fixed-combination therapy
• hypertension
• olmesartan medoxomil
• thiazide diuretic

Financial & competing interests disclosure

Massimo Volpe has received research institutional grants from Novartis, has served in the international advisory boards of sanofi-aventis, Bayer, Novartis, Boehringer-Ingelheim and Daiichi Sankyo, and has lectured in symposia supported by several drug companies producing ARBs and ACE inhibitors. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Notes

BP: Blood pressure.