Peter Olexa
Trandolapril/verapamil SR is an effective and well tolerated therapy for the treatment of patients with essential hypertension and CAD, including those with type 2 diabetes. In INVEST, a verapamil SR-based treatment strategy that included trandolapril in most patients was as effective as an atenolol-based strategy in reducing the risk of the primary outcome (first occurrence of death, nonfatal MI or nonfatal stroke) in patients with hypertension and CAD and was as well tolerated. Trandolapril/verapamil SR is generally more effective at controlling hypertension than either component as monotherapy. And it is as effective as a number of other fixed-dose combination therapies. The combination is as well tolerated as trandolapril monotherapy and is at least as well tolerated as verapamil SR monotherapy. In hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes in the BENEDICT, trandolapril/verapamil SR prolonged the time to the onset of persistent microalbuminuria compared with placebo. Thus, trandolapril/verapamil SR is an effective option for the treatment of essential hypertension in patients requiring more than one agent to archieve BP targets, including those with compelling indications, such as CAD and type 2 diabetes.