Efficacy and Tolerability of Lercanidipine in Elderly Patients with Mild to Moderate Hypertension in a Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind Study

This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was performed to assess the efficacy and tolerability of lercanidipine, a new dihydropyridine calcium antagonist, for treatment of elderly hypertensive patients. A total of 144 patients aged 60-85 years were enrolled and randomly allocated to lercanidipine 10 mg or placebo for 4 weeks. The starting dose was then titrated up to 30 mg q.d. in non-responders during the following 12 weeks. The diastolic blood pressure (DBP) decrease induced by lercanidipine 10 mg (−10.3 mm Hg) was significantly greater than the DBP reduction observed after placebo (−6.1 mm Hg; p<0.01), and the percentage of patients responding to the active treatment was significantly greater than the corresponding percentage in the placebo group (59.1 vs. 37.8%, respectively; p<0.05). Dose titration to 20 mg increased the response rate to 69.4%, and only a few patients required titration to 30 mg. Heart rate and laboratory test parameters did not change with treatment. The percentage of patients reporting adverse events was similar in the placebo and active groups. Lercanidipine given once a day significantly reduces blood pressure levels in elderly subjects with mild to moderate hypertension. The effect persists for 24 h and does not induce reflex tachycardia. The drug is well-tolerated and because of its pharmacologic and pharmacodynamic properties may be particularly indicated in the treatment of elderly hypertensive patients.