HYPERTENSION - A POSSIBLE RISK IN ROAD TRAFFIC

Physical and/or mental deficiencies caused by illness and sometimes by drug therapy may impair the patient's condition at work and when driving. Therefore, the influence of drug therapy, particularly that of chronic disease, on patients who drive should be considered. A controlled study was carried out with 18 hypertensive drivers to investigate the influence of moxonidine (0.2-0.4 mg/day), a new, centrally acting antihypertensive drug, on driving ability. The observation of driving behavior during a standard test drive under realistic conditions and psychometric laboratory tests did not indicate any impairment of driving behavior in these patients. Untreated hypertensive patients had definite increases in blood pressure compared with a normotensive control group at the beginning of the test drive. These high levels remained high or increased during the driving test, but treated patients experienced a significant and clinically relevant reduction in blood pressure, particularly systolic blood pressure.