Administration of angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors in the treatment of hypertension

Abstract

Introduction. High blood pressure is an extremely important public health problem worldwide. According to the WHO, the number of adults with high blood pressure increased to 1.13 billion in 2015. Considering the cardiovascular diseases, the high blood pressure complications accounted for 9.4 million deaths worldwide in 2015. In Moldova, according to statistical data, 58.1% of deaths were caused by cardiovascular diseases in 2018. The data of the National Statistics Bureau demonstrate the prevalence of circulatory system diseases in the structure of population morbidity in 2018 (707,800). Aim of the study. This study aims to assess the antihypertensive efficacy of various preparations forming the class of angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors in patients with high blood pressure. Thus, the high blood pressure control is achieved by reaching the target values in the middle-aged patients (130/85) and reducing the pressure to at least 140/90 in the elderly. Materials and methods.. The study was performed on 60 patients, who had a blood pressure level of ≥140/90 when admitted to the hospital. Thirty patients took Lisinopril and other thirty patients took Ramipril. The dynamics of the values was monitored and the blood pressure levels at the time of discharge and hospitalization were compared. Results. We found that of thirty patients taking Lisinopril, systolic blood pressure decreased by 0-10 units in 7 patients (23%), by 11-20 units in 14 patients (47%), by 21-30 units in 6 patients (20%), by 31-40 units in 2 patients (7%), and by 41-50 units in one case. Among patients taking Ramipril, the pressure decreased by 0-10 units in 2 patients (7%), by 11-20 units in 11 patients (37%), by 21-30 units in 9 patients (30%). It decreased by 31-40 units in 7 patients and by 41-50 units in 1 patient. At discharge, 18 patients taking Ramipril had blood pressure <140/90, compared with those taking Lisinopril – 14. Conclusions. Converting enzyme inhibitors are an effective therapeutic class in lowering blood pressure. Ramipril has decreased the pressure values by more units compared to Lisinopril.