A Comparative study to assess the effectiveness and safety of cilnidipine versus amlodipine in patients with newly diagnosed essential hypertension: insights from a single centre prospective observational study

Background: Calcium channel blockers (CCBs) are proposed to play a pivotal role for the management and control of hypertension. Dihydropyridine-type calcium channel blockers (CCBs) like Amlodipine are frequently used because for their strong antihypertensive and minimal adverse side effects. However, it is commonly associated with the causation of pedal edema among the patients. Cilnidipine, which is a novel new generation calcium channel blocker, is presumed to cause lesser pedal edema with a satisfactory clinical control of hypertension along with negligible side effects. This study was carried out to compare clinical effectiveness and safety profile between Amlodipine and Cilnidipine.Methods: A prospective, randomized, open label study of 12 weeks’ duration was conducted amongst 60 patients with newly diagnosed essential hypertension. 30 patients of one group received Tab. Amlodipine 5 mg and 30 patients of same age groups received Tab. Cilnidipine 10mg.Results: There was a highly statistically significant decrease in the level of blood pressure in the Cilnidipine group compared to the Amlodipine group mainly at day 90 (P