Efficacy and safety of the treatment: combination of benazepril/lercanidipine vs. benazepril alone in patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension

Background Combination therapy is an effective method to reduce the blood pressure (BP) for patients with hypertension. This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of benazepril/lercanidipine compared with benazepril alone in patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension. Methods One hundred and eighty-one patients with mild-to-moderate primary hypertension were assigned in this randomized, single-blind, parallel-group study and were randomly divided into group A (benazepril 10 mg/lercanidipine 10 mg) and group B (benazepril 10 mg) for 8 weeks. At 4 weeks, the dosage of Benazepril was titrated up to 20 mg if the diastolic blood pressure (DBP) remained >= 90 mmHg. BP control and side effects were evaluated at the end of 1, 4 and 8 weeks. Results The baseline characteristics of the two groups were similar. The BP in both groups decreased from the baseline (P<0.05). At the end of 4 and 8 weeks, Benazepril/Lercanidipine produced greater BP reduction than Benazepril alone (P<0.05). The comparison of the rate of BP control for the benazepril/lercanidipine and benazepril groups at the end of 1, 4, and 8 weeks were 41.2% vs. 37.6% (P>0.05), 67.1% vs. 44.7% (P<0.05), and 71.8% vs. 45.9% (P<0.05). There was no significant difference of side effects between the two groups. Conclusion The benazepril/lercanidipine combination is more effective in reducing BP than benazepril alone, while it does not increase the incidence of side effects.