Key result
Oxprenolol lowers blood pressure up to ~40 mmHg, but effects plateau above 160 mg daily.
Why the study?
The response to beta blockade with oxprenolol in essential hypertension lacks clear predictors, making treatment empirical.
Observational (n=40)
May not warrant oxprenolol dose escalation beyond 160 mg daily; leaves open predictors of response and optimal titration strategies.
The data from 40 patients with essential hypertension treated with oxprenolol alone have been used to analyse the falls of blood pressure and heart rate. Blood pressure and heart rate did not fall further as the daily dose was increased above 160 mg. The range of fall in mean pressure was from 0 to 40 mmHg and there was no clear separation into response groups. Pressure falls were unrelated to sex, age, initial heart rate, increase in heart rate on standing, the fall of heart rate with the drug, or the initial height of blood pressure. In the absence of predicting factors the use of oxprenolol, and, by deduction, other beta blocking agents, in hypertension remains empirical, but the simplification of the dose range allows the response to oxprenolol to be determined quickly.
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Barritt et al. (1977) conducted an observational in essential hypertension (n=40). Oxprenolol was evaluated on falls of blood pressure and heart rate. Oxprenolol treatment in essential hypertension resulted in mean pressure falls ranging from 0 to 40 mmHg, with no further blood pressure or heart rate reductions at daily doses above 160 mg.
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