ESSENTIAL HYPERTENSION

Abstract

Background: Hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus also tend to coexist.
The goal of antihypertensive therapy should consist of reducing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality associated with
hypertension by a strategy focused on lowering blood pressure while minimizing the impact on other associated
cardiovascular risk factors like diabetes mellitus. Objectives: To observe and compare any change in serum glucose
in patients with newly diagnosed essential hypertension with Atenolol and Amlodipine. Setting: Department of
Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Basic Medical Science Institute (BMSI), Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Centre
(JPMC), Karachi. Period: 12 weeks (90 days) Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed essential hypertension (N=70)
were enrolled in this study and were divided into two groups, each comprised of 35 patients and were given tablet
Atenolol 50/100mg once daily and tablet Amlodipine 5/10 mg once daily respectively for 90 days. Fasting Blood glucose
was measured on day of inclusion i.e. day 0, day 45 and day 90. At each fortnightly visit, blood pressure was recorded.
Results: Atenolol raised mean blood glucose levels from baseline levels of 91.82±1.34 mg/dl to 99.73±1.33 mg/dl on
day 90 (P<0.001) while Amlodipine had no significant effect on blood glucose level (P= N.S). Conclusion: Atenolol
may not be a good choice for essential hypertensive patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus as it is found to impair the normal glucose metabolism. Long term clinical trials in diabetic patients are needed to confirm the observation of the
present study.