Responses to captopril and hydrochlorothiazide in black patients with hypertension

The effects of captopril (C) in doses of up to 450 mg/day, placebo (P), and hydrochlorothiazide (H) in doses of 50 to 100 mg/day were compared in double-blind studies in 38 black patients. Mean blood pressure response to C was only slightly greater than to P (systolic response difference only). Mean blood pressure responses to H were greater than to C. Results were compared to available data on 185 white and black patients treated similarly. In white patients, response to C was greater than to P, but response to H was approximately equal to that to C. In black patients, results were of the same order as those reported here; the systolic response to C was greater than that to P and response to H was greater than that to C. These data suggest that black and white patients differ in response to certain antihypertensive drugs.