Effects of losartan titrated to losartan/hydrochlorothiazide and amlodipine on left ventricular mass in patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension - A double-blind randomized controlled study

To study the effects of the angiotensin II receptor antagonist Losartan and Amlodipine on left ventricular mass (LVM), we performed blood pressure measurements and transthoracic echocardiographies at baseline. After a 4-week placebo run-in period, 25 patients with mild-to-moderate essential hypertension were randomly allocated to active treatment with Losartan 50 mg titrated to Losartan 50 mg/hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) 12.5 mg (n = 11) or Amlodipine 5 mg titrated to 10 mg (n = 14) for 16 weeks. After treatment, blood pressure decreased significantly in both groups. LVM and LVM index (mean +/- SD/median) in the Losartan group at baseline were 311 +/- 101/288 g and 163 +/- 55/150 g/m(2) and decreased significantly to 252 +/- 25/255 g and 133 +/- 22/128 g/m(2) (p = 0.003 for LVM; p = 0.01 for LVM index) after 16 weeks of active treatment. In the Amlodipine group LVM and LVM index decreased from 259 +/- 47/243 g and 136 +/- 25/131 g/m(2) to 240 +/- 42/234 g and 126 +/- 24/123 g/m(2) (n.s.). In conclusion, LVM decreased significantly as early as 16 weeks after initiation of antihypertensive treatment with the Angiotensin II antagonist Losartan.