PubMed1989
Numerous epidemiological studies have shown that systolic and systodisystolic hypertension constitute major risk factors for damaging or fatal cardiovascular accidents in the elderly as well as the young. Furthermore reducing the blood pressure also reduces the risk. In 1983 Fleckenstein investigated the Ca++ and MG++ contact of human arteries and clearly demonstrated that titres of both but especially Ca++ in the arterial wall increased progressively with age. The Authors themselves caused calcinosis of the arterial wall in rats treated with Vitamin D3 and Dihydrotachysterol and were able to prevent the occurrence with Verapamil. It is against this background that the present study compared the efficacy and tolerability of two anti-hypertensive drug groups in the calcium antagonists and the ACE inhibitors (Enalapril Maleate) used individually on two groups of elderly hypertensives. A group of 123 out patients with a mean age of 73 and all suffering from slight-to-moderate hypertension were monitored for 6 months being subjected to the following examinations: clinical assessment including blood pressure measurements lying and standing, biohumoral tests, remote heart X-rays, echocardiography (to establish the Reichek systolic wall stress index) and ECG. The clinical examination and ECG were repeated every 2 weeks for the first 6 months and once a month thereafter. The heart X-rays, echocardiogram and biohumeral tests were performed every 6 months. The patients were divided into two groups I and II and assigned to the selected treatment. The Group I patients were then divided into 3 subgroups and treated with 3 different calcium antagonists (Nifedipine R; Verapamil R and Diltiazem). All group II patients were treated with Enalapril Maleate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)