Quality of life with antihypertensive medication.

Abstract

Mild to moderate hypertension is often an asymptomatic disease, but it is strongly associated with increased risk of cardiovascular, renal and central nervous system morbidity and mortality. Because of the chronic nature of the disease, treatment involves the reduction of blood pressure without functional impairment. Since the adverse effects of pharmacological agents greatly reduce compliance, it is of prime importance not only to control blood pressure but also to preserve the patient's quality of life. Previous studies have demonstrated the adverse effects observed in patients treated with antihypertensive medications, but few have attempted to analyse the impact on the quality of life. Therefore, a multicentre trial was carried out to investigate the quality of life in hypertensive patients before and after treatment with the beta-adrenergic blocker propranolol or the calcium channel blocker nitrendipine. Both treatments were effective in the reduction of blood pressure. Preliminary results indicated that patients taking nitrendipine were more vigorous (P less than 0.01) and less fatigued (P less than 0.05) than those taking propranolol. In addition, patients in the propranolol group perceived a decrease in a partner's sexual satisfaction (P less than 0.05). No other major negative impacts on the quality of life were caused by either drug. These preliminary data indicate that nitrendipine and propranolol reduced blood pressure equally, but that nitrendipine caused less of a negative impact on the quality of life than propranolol.