Olmesartan medoxomil for the treatment of hypertension in children and adolescents

Prevalence of hypertension in children and adolescents has progressively and continuously increased over recent decades. Thus, early and effective control of high blood pressure may be considered an effective therapeutic approach, in order to reduce the burden of hypertension-related cardiovascular disease in future. In the past, due to the absence of prospective, long-term, randomized, controlled clinical trials performed in young hypertensive patients, lifestyle changes have been long seen as the only strategy to reduce high blood pressure levels. More recently, clinical data on the efficacy and safety of five major classes of antihypertensive drugs (including angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, angiotensin receptor blockers [ARBs], beta-blockers, calcium-antagonists, and diuretics) have become available. In particular, these trials demonstrated dose-dependent blood pressure reductions and a good tolerability profile of several ARBs in hypertensive children and adolescents. An overview is provided of the clinical benefits of early detection and prompt intervention of high blood pressure levels, with a closer analysis of recent clinical trials, performed with olmesartan medoxomil in young subjects with hypertension.