The blood pressure responses of thiazide-resistant hypertensives to a once-a-day bevantolol regimen.

The antihypertensive efficacy of a single daily dose of bevantolol (200 mg) alone or in combination with hydrochlorothiazide (25 mg) has been compared against conventional twice daily propranolol (80 mg) therapy in a group of 22 hypertensive patients whose blood pressures did not respond to thiazide monotherapy. Addition of bevantolol to the diuretic resulted in a significant (P less than 0.001) fall in sitting blood pressures (144/97 to 137/90 mmHg), supine blood pressures (147/100 to 141/92 mmHg) and heart rate (83 to 73 beats/min) 24 h after administration. When the diuretic was withdrawn, heart rate and diastolic pressures remained unchanged and within normotensive limits but systolic pressures increased to pre-treatment levels. Substitution of propranolol for bevantolol gave results comparable to the combined bevantolol-diuretic regimen except that heart rate was still lower (66 beats/min). No significant adverse reactions were reported. In thiazide-resistant hypertensives, a once daily dose of 200 mg bevantolol effectively reduced diastolic blood pressures towards normotensive limits and to an extent comparable with twice daily propranolol therapy.