Minipress in the treatment of arterial hypertension in light of results from a multicenter study. I. 3-month treatment: monotherapy versus combination treatment

Multicenter study of the effectiveness and safety of prazosin (Minipress) in patients with arterial hypertension was carried out in 15 medical centers. Of 366 patients who entered the study, 328 persons satisfying all the protocol conditions were included into the final analysis. The treatment lasted 3 months. Highly significant decrease of systolic and diastolic blood pressure was obtained in all periods of observation. In about two-thirds of patients Minipress was effective as a single drug and in the remaining persons the decrease of blood pressure was achieved using prazosin in combination with other antihypertensive drugs. Patients requiring combination therapy were almost 2 years older (however, the difference was not significant), had higher initial blood pressure and greater body mass. Mean daily doses of Minipress in the monotherapy and combination treatment were 5.6 and 10 mg, respectively. Side effects were observed in 27% of patients, but only in 5% they were the cause of drug withdrawal.