RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the efficacy of ramipril 2.5 and 5 mg once daily on the degree and homogeneity of 24-hour blood pressure reduction in essential hypertensive Thai patients. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Nineteen male subjects, aged 30 to 60 years, with newly diagnosed essential hypertension were evaluated using the 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (24-h ABP) measurement. RESULTS: Twelve subjects responded and/or normalized with ramipril once daily, where the office and 24-h ABP were decreased significantly from baseline (p < 0.01). The percentage and magnitude of 24-h SBP/DBP loads after treatment were significantly decreased from 92 +/- 9.7/91 +/- 15.9 to 67 +/- 23.8/65 +/- 27.6 (p < 0.01) and from 23 +/- 10.6/16 +/- 5.3 mmHg to 17 +/- 10.3/10 +/- 4.8 mmHg ( p < 0.05). Trough to peak ratio for SBP/DBP was 0.59/0.52 (overall estimated) and 0.68 +/- 0.23/0.52 +/- 0.22 (individual estimated), while the smoothness index was 0.89/1.03. CONCLUSION: Ramipril 2.5 and 5 mg once daily exerted the smooth 24-hour blood pressure reduction in essential hypertensive Thai patients.