The safety of
terazosin, an effective agent for the treatment of
hypertension, was assessed by analyzing data from 1,006 hypertensive patients who were enrolled in short-term and/or long-term studies. The total experience with
terazosin in this article represents 422.5 patient-years. Changes in pulse rate measurements from pretreatment to posttreatment were not significantly different between the
terazosin- and placebo-treated patients (-1.0 beat per minute for the
terazosin group and -1.0 beat per minute for the placebo group, in the supine position).
Dizziness,
headache, and
asthenia were the most commonly reported adverse experiences among all
terazosin-treated patients, although the incidence of
headache in placebo-controlled trials was not significantly different between the
terazosin and placebo groups. As a whole, patients receiving
terazosin had a tendency to gain small amounts of weight (2 pounds). In addition, there was a trend for slight decreases in
hemoglobin, hematocrit, white blood cell count, total
protein, and
albumin levels in those patients who received
terazosin, suggesting
hemodilution. Overall,
terazosin was shown to be safe in patients with mild to moderate
essential hypertension.