BACKGROUND: In a previously reported randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study of the efficacy and tolerability of olmesartan medoxomil (OLM) and azelnidipine (AZL) combination therapy compared with monotherapy with each agent in Japanese patients with essential hypertension (the REZALT study), the use of a combination of OLM, an angiotensin II receptor blocker, plus AZL, a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker, was associated with significantly greater reductions in office sitting blood pressure (BP) and 24-hour ambulatory BP compared with monotherapy with either agent, and was well tolerated.
OBJECTIVE: This article reports the results from an a priori planned analysis and post hoc analyses of the diurnal BP and pulse rate (PR) profiles of OLM/AZL versus monotherapy with either agent from the REZALT study.
METHODS: Male and female Japanese outpatients with essential hypertension were eligible if they met the following inclusion criteria: age > or = 20 years; systolic BP (SBP) > or = 140 to <180 mm Hg and diastolic BP (DBP) > or = 90 to <110 mm Hg; and 24-hour ambulatory SBP/DBP > or = 135/> or = 80 mm Hg. Patients were randomly assigned to receive OLM/AZL 10/8 mg, OLM/AZL 20/16 mg, OLM 20 mg, or AZL 16 mg, once daily for 12 weeks. The effectiveness of the treatments was assessed using 24-hour ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM) and PR, analyzed by time period (BP and PR, 24 hours, daytime [7 AM-<10 PM], nighttime [10 PM-<7 AM], and early morning [6 AM-<9 AM]; PR, morning [6 AM -<11 AM]) and dipping status at baseline (dippers [(Daytime BP - Nighttime BP)/Daytime BP > or = 10%] or nondippers [(Daytime BP - Nighttime BP)/Daytime BP <10%]).
RESULTS: A total of 867 patients were enrolled, and 862 randomized patients were included in the full analysis set (590 men, 272 women; mean age, 56.6 years). A total of 839 patients had assessable ABPM data (213, 211, 206, and 209 patients in the OLM/AZL 10/8 mg, OLM/AZL 20/16 mg, OLM, and AZL groups, respectively). No clinically significant between-group differences were observed in baseline demographic and clinical characteristics. Combination therapy was associated with significantly greater antihypertensive effects on 24-hour ABPM compared with either monotherapy in all of the time periods, as follows: SBP/DBP reductions with OLM/AZL 20/16 mg in the daytime, nighttime, and early morning were -22.6/-14.1, -21.2/-12.5, and -20.6/-11.9 mm Hg, respectively (all, P < 0.05 vs the other 3 treatment groups). The SBP/DBP reductions with OLM/AZL 10/8 mg (daytime, -18.2/-11.0 mm Hg; nighttime, -18.1/-10.0 mm Hg; and early morning, -15.6/-9.3 mm Hg) were also significantly greater than with OLM 20 mg (-11.8/-6.7, -12.8/-7.2, and -11.0/ -6.9 mm Hg, respectively; all, P < 0.01) and AZL 16 mg (-13.1/-7.8, -10.2/-5.5, and -9.9/-6.1 mm Hg; all, P < 0.001) in all of the time periods. The antihypertensive effects associated with OLM/AZL 10/8 mg or 20/16 mg were significantly greater than those with monotherapies regardless of dipping pattern at baseline (all, P < 0.05) in all of the time periods, with the exception of nighttime reduction with OLM/AZL 10/8 mg versus OLM in dippers. The numbers of patients who had any increase in BP were 12/213 (5.6%) with OLM/AZL 10/8 mg, 13/211 (6.2%) with OLM/AZL 20/16 mg, 35/206 (17.0%) with OLM, and 36/209 (17.2%) with AZL. The AZL-containing regimens were associated with reduced morning PR (mean [95% CI] changes from baseline to week 12: -1.5 beats/min [-2.5 to -0.4] with OLM/AZL 10/8 mg, -2.1 beats/min [-3.0 to -1.1] with OLM/AZL 20/16 mg, 0.4 beat/min [-0.5 to 1.3] with OLM, and -1.9 beats/min [-2.8 to -1.0] with AZL).
CONCLUSION: In this study in Japanese patients with essential hypertension, the reductions in daytime, nighttime, and early-morning BP assessed using 24-hour ABPM were significantly greater with combination OLM/AZL than with either monotherapy, regardless of dipping pattern at baseline. Japan Pharmaceutical Information Center registration number: JapicCTI-060286.
