Efficacy and tolerability of valsartan in patients with mild to moderate essential hypertension

To assess the efficacy of valsartan in a different ethnic population than that studied in international trials. Also to compare the adverse experiences reported in this trial with those reported internationally. A total of 2940 patients with newly diagnosed or established uncomplicated mild-to-moderate essential hypertension participated in this open-label study. Each participating investigator was asked to enrol 12 patients, 10 on valsartan and 2, serving as controls, on any other anti-hypertensive. The control group included patients of similar clinical setting, disease severity, and overall health profile using alternative anti-hypertensive treatments was enrolled for tracking of patients receiving any anti-hypertensive other than valsartan. Both valsartan and the control medications showed a clear-cut antihypertensive effect. However, valsartan showed significantly better antihypertensive efficacy compared to the control group at the final visit. Twenty-four percent of patients in the control group compared to 3.9% in the valsartan group reported adverse experiences (P