Blood pressure reduction and control with fixed-dose combination perindopril/amlodipine: A Pan-Hellenic prospective observational study

Introduction: Hypertension guidelines recommend fixed-dose combinations for enhanced blood pressure (BP) reduction and compliance. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness and safety of fixed-dose perindopril/amlodipine combination in reducing and controlling BP in Greek hypertensive patients, as well as the effect of baseline BP and added cardiovascular risk on BP reduction. Methods: This 6-month prospective observational study included male or female patients 18 years with essential hypertension prescribed fixed-dose combination perindopril/amlodipine. BP was measured at baseline and 3 and 6 months. Baseline cardiovascular risk and treatment compliance were also assessed. Results: In 2231 per protocol patients, mean systolic BP decreased from 157.015.4 mm Hg to 129.0 +/- 7.9 mm Hg after 6 months, and diastolic BP from 91.5 +/- 10.1 to 78.8 +/- 6.7 mm Hg (both p < 0.001). BP control was achieved in 84.8% at 6 months. Patients with higher baseline added cardiovascular risk or BP had greater BP reduction (p < 0.001). Compliance was good (97.1% took treatment every day or quite often) and few (n = 27; 1.2%) discontinued treatment prematurely due to adverse events. Conclusions: Fixed-dose perindopril/amlodipine safely and effectively reduced high BP in real-life practice, achieving BP control in most patients. About half of Greek hypertensive patients have high/very high added cardiovascular risk.