Evaluation of cilazapril versus captopril in patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension.

Objective: Cilazapril, a long-acting angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, was evaluated against captopril for safety and efficacy in the treatment of mild to moderate essential hypertension.

Methods: One hundred thirty-two patients were randomly assigned to receive cilazapril, 2.5 mg once daily; 62 patients were randomly assigned to receive captopril, 25 mg twice daily. If necessary, dosage was increased to 5.0 mg cilazapril, once daily or 50 mg captopril, twice daily. Adjunctive hydrochlorothiazide (12.5 mg once daily) was later added to this higher dosage, if required.

Results: After eight weeks of monotherapy, sitting diastolic blood pressure (SDBP) had decreased 7.5 mm Hg from baseline for cilazapril-treated patients, versus 5.6 mm Hg for captopril-treated patients. These decreases were 7.6 mm Hg and 6.8 mm Hg for cilazapril and captopril, respectively, at Week 12. At Week 8, 36.5% of patients receiving cilazapril had achieved a SDBP of 90 mm Hg or less, versus 26.0% of captopril-treated patients. The overall responder rate at Week 8 was 47.1% for cilazapril and 34.0% for captopril. None of these differences between the two treatment groups were statistically significant. Both drugs alone or in combination with hydrochlorothiazide were well tolerated during the 12-week treatment period.

Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that cilazapril, alone or with adjunctive hydrochlorothiazide, is effective and well tolerated as treatment for mild to moderate hypertension.