Combination perindopril/indapamide for the treatment of hypertension: a review.

Hypertension is an important risk factor for cardiovascular complications and the need to treat this condition has been well established. Despite the availability of many antihypertensive drugs, it is often necessary to combine several of these drugs. The compound perindopril/indapamide offers the opportunity to start with a fixed combination of two effective agents as first-line treatment. Large outcome trials so far show that the perindopril/indapamide compound has favourable prognostic effects in elderly hypertensives as well as in patients with high cardiovascular risks, regardless of their level of blood pressure. This review examines the prevalence of hypertension, the major risk factors, its pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics and clinical efficacy, and also looks at the results of large outcome trials. This review will allow the reader to put the role of the perindopril/indapamide combination in perspective, at least from a clinical point of view. Despite the positive trial results, there are still issues that deserve attention, for example safety with respect to drug levels in special patient groups. Also, in the large outcome trials placebo treatment (whether or not in addition to other medication) was taken as the comparator, and it is uncertain whether the combination of perindopril and indapamide performs better than established modes of treatment. More studies are needed to establish whether the combination drug has similar positive effects in the long run in 'ordinary' patients and those with comorbid conditions or those who are treated with other drugs as well. Nevertheless, it is fair to state that the low-dose perindopril/indapamide combination adds to our pharmaceutical arsenal and can be applied as first-line treatment by physicians who care for patients with elevated blood pressure or, more broadly, those with cardiovascular disease.