Moxonidine (0.2-0.4 mg/day) did not impair driving behavior in hypertensive drivers and significantly reduced blood pressure during a standard test drive compared to untreated patients.
Observational (n=18)
Does moxonidine impair driving ability or reduce blood pressure during driving in hypertensive drivers?
Moxonidine effectively lowers blood pressure during driving stress without impairing driving ability or psychometric performance.
Summary: Physical and/or mental deficiencies caused by illness and sometimes by drug therapy may impair the patient's condition at work and when driving. Therefore, the influence of drug therapy, particularly that of chronic disease, on patients who drive should be considered. A controlled study was carried out with 18 hypertensive drivers to investigate the influence of moxonidine (0.2-0.4 mg/day), a new, centrally acting antihypertensive drug. on driving ability. The observation of driving behavior during a standard test drive under realistic conditions and psychometric laboratory tests did not indicate any impairment of driving behavior in these patients. Untreated hypertensive patients had definite increases in blood pressure compared with a normotensive control group at the beginning of the test drive. These high levels remained high or increased during the driving test, but treated patients experienced a significant and clinically relevant reduction in blood pressure, particularly systolic blood pressure.
Schmidt et al. (Wed,) conducted a observational in Hypertension (n=18). Moxonidine vs. Untreated hypertensive patients and normotensive controls was evaluated on Driving behavior and blood pressure. Moxonidine (0.2-0.4 mg/day) did not impair driving behavior in hypertensive drivers and significantly reduced blood pressure during a standard test drive compared to untreated patients.