Tertatolol has been studied in 2,338 patients with mild to moderate
hypertension over a one year period.
Tertatolol (T) was initiated alone (5 mg once daily) and if satisfactory control of blood pressure (BP) (diastolic BP less than 95 mm Hg) was not achieved, treatment was adapted at the third or sixth month either by increasing the dosage (heart rate greater than 70 beats/min), or by adding a
potassium-sparing
diuretic (heart rate less than or equal to 70 beats/min). Blood pressure normalization was achieved in 88.8% of the study population: 66.1% on single and 22.7% on dual
therapy. The decrease of diastolic BP was 18.4 mm Hg (from 102.8 +/- 0.2 to 84.4 +/- 0.2 mm Hg, P less than .001).
Tertatolol alone or associated with
diuretic (T + D) induced a significant and continuous decrease in supine systolic and diastolic BP. Overall side effects were rare, leading in only 6.5% of the cases to the discontinuation of the
drug. Plasma
creatinine significantly decreased in the single therapy group only (from 92.2 +/- 0.5 to 90.1 +/- 0.5 mumol/L, P less than .01). In patients with initial plasma
creatinine greater than or equal to 100 mumol/L (n = 661), plasma
creatinine markedly decreased (-10%, from 114.6 +/- 0.7 to 103.4 +/- 0.8 mumol/L, P less than .01), and to the same extent with T or T + D. Thus, this large-scale study confirms that
tertatolol is an efficient and well-tolerated
antihypertensive drug, which improves renal function, especially when initially reduced.