P-178: AT-1 receptor antagonism with candesartan cilexitil improves endothelial function in patients with hypertension and coronary artery disease: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial

Endothelial dysfunction (ED) predicts adverse prognosis in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and in hypertensives (HTN). Since reversibility of ED has been reported to be associated with more favorable prognosis in HTN, evaluation of the effect of therapy on ED maybe clinically relevant. We studied 28 patients (27 men) with controlled HTN and stable asymptomatic CAD while on beta-blocker and nitrate therapy, with evidence of sustained ED assessed by ultrasound measurement of % hyperemic flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery. FMD was evaluated at screening and after a 2 week run-in and only patients with reduced (