Clinical effects of combined olmesartan medoxomil and amlodipine on clinic and ambulatory blood pressure in elderly patients with resistant hypertension

Elderly patients with resistant hypertension are at increased risk for cardiovascular events. Clinical trials suggest that resistant hypertension involves perhaps 10–15% of hypertension study participants. In this study, 157 resistant hypertension patients older than 60 years were randomized to 8 weeks double-blind treatment with placebo, AML 10 mg/day, OM 40 mg/day and AM × L (10 mg/day) + OM (40 mg/day). Research outcomes suggested that ALM + OM combination therapy had superior efficacy than ALM or OM monotherapies in terms of the clinic blood pressure and 24-h ambulatory blood pressure. In addition, more patients receiving combination therapy (62.5%) achieved BP goal than those treated with placebo (18.4%), AML (37.5) or OM (38.5%) monotherapies. The adverse events in both groups were comparable. Thus, the combination of AML + OM provides a safe and effective option for the treatment of resistant hypertension in challenging elderly patient populations.