RESUMO
The efficacy, tolerance, and safety of ramipril, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, were assessed in 502 patients from five multicenter, double-blind studies who had mild-to-moderate essential hypertension. Each study was designed with a 4-week placebo run-in phase followed by 6 weeks of treatment with ramipril or one of five other antihypertensive treatments. A total of 412 young patients (17-65 years of age) and 90 old patients (66-87 years) in these studies received single daily doses of 5 or 10 mg of ramipril. At the end point of treatment, mean reductions in supine systolic blood pressure (19.4 mm Hg in young patients, 17.8 mm Hg in old) were significantly different, whereas mean reductions in supine diastolic blood pressure (13.3 mm Hg in young patients, 12.5 mm Hg in old) showed no significant difference. The number of responders was similar in both age groups: 68.6% and 71.1% of young and old patients respectively. No clinically relevant trends were observed in biochemical and hematological variables. Ramipril was well tolerated by both young and old patients, and there was little evidence that it was less safe in the elderly.
