Impact of Different Medication Schedules of Nitrendipine on Clinical Casual Blood Pressure, 24 Hour Ambulatory Blood Pressure, and Blood Pressure During Physical Exercise

We examined whether clinical casual blood pressure (BP), 24 h ambulatory BP monitoring, and BP during physical exercise testing were affected differently when patients were treated for a period of 1 year with individualized medication schedules. Thirty-two patients with mild essential hypertension (Oʼ, = 46 ± 6 years) were treated with nitrendipine 10–40 mg/day. Oxprenolol (160 mg, slow release) was added when clinical casual BP remained elevated. The results of four subgroups (group 1< 20 mg nitrendipine, once daily, n = 6; group 2≥ 20 mg nitrendipine, once daily, n = 9; group 3nitrendipine, twice daily, n = 2; and group 4nitrendipine plus oxprenolol, n = 6) revealed no significant differences in clinical casual BP during long-term therapy, baseline resting BP, and BP during exercise testing with 100 W. Also, average BP during the workday and at night was not different between the groups. Not only the pharmacodynamic data, but also the clinical effects suggest that the once-daily intake of nitrendipine can be recommended in patients with mild essential hypertension.