Captopril now for mild hypertension?

Abstract

The manufacturer of captopril (Capoten) is asking the Food and Drug Administration for permission to extend its use to all hypertensive patients. Previously, because of neutropenia, rash, and other potential side effects, captopril was limited to severely ill patients or those who failed to respond to other antihypertensive drugs. Now, however, the manufacturer, E. R. Squibb & Sons, Inc, Princeton, NJ, says recent clinical trials indicate long-term efficacy and a low level of adverse effects in mildly hypertensive patients. The data were discussed at a satellite symposium of the First European Meeting on Hypertension in Milan. Edward Fries, MD, senior medical investigator at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, Washington, DC, and co-chair of the VA's Cooperative Study Group on Antihypertensive Agents, discussed an earlier study involving 475 mildly hypertensive persons (92 to 109 mm Hg diastolic). Blood pressure returned to normal in from half to three fourths of the patients