Effect of Benidipine hydrochloride on Blood Pressure in Patients with Hypertension Assessed by Ambulatory Blood Pressure

Objective To assess the antihypertensive effect and tolerability of benidipine hydrochloride in patients with essential hypertension. Methods After 2 weeks wash-out, patients with seated diastolic blood pressure （SiDBP） 95-115 mmHg and ambulatory diastolic blood pressure（ADBP） ≥85 mmHg were treated by open-label method with benidipine hydrochloride 4 mg/d for 2 weeks. Dosage was titrated to 8 mg/d for another 6 weeks in patients when SiDBP≥90 mmHg. Both ambulatory blood pressure monitoring （ABPM） and laboratory test were performed after wash-out and at the end of 8 weeks. Results Mean reductions from baseline in 24 h, day-time（6:00-22:00）, night-time（22:00-6:00） were （9.4±5.4/6.2±4.1）, （10.7±6.7/6.8±3.8）, （6.9±9.0/5.1±7.7） mmHg, respectively. Trough:Peak ratios were 58 for DBP and 59 for SBP. The incidences of adverse events were very low. Conclusion Benidipine hydrochloride 4-8 mg/d appears to be an effective antihypertensive treatment.