Abstract Background
Arterial stiffness and
hypertension are strong predictors of
cardiovascular disease and
mortality .
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and
angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) are first-line
antihypertensive agents in reducing
blood pressure and
arterial stiffness . Objective The objective of this study was to compare the effects of ACEI and ARB in reducing
arterial stiffness and preventing target organ damage in
patients with
hypertension .
Methods This
observational study included 654 participants
who attend routine
consultations at an
outpatient hypertension clinic in 2
university hospitals .
Patients were interviewed, and they underwent central and peripheral
blood pressure measurements.
Doppler echocardiography ,
carotid ultrasound , biochemical tests, and anthropometric
parameters were carried out. Shapiro-Wilk, chi-square, and Fisher's exact test were used. A significance level of 5% was adopted. Results A total of 659 participants were evaluated in the study (398 from the ARB group and 256 from the ACEI group). Age,
body mass index (BMI), central and peripheral
blood pressure measurements,
pulse wave velocity (PWV), left ventricular mass index, and
carotid intima-media thickness did not show differences between the groups (p > 0.05). After
linear regression analysis , the ACEI group had lower values of total
vascular resistance (TVR) (p = 0.003) and augmentation
pressure (p = 0.008), when compared to the ARB group. Conclusion This study showed that the ACEI group had a greater reduction in augmentation
pressure and PWV. There were no differences between the groups regarding the improvement of outcomes related to central
arterial pressure , PWV, and cardiac and vascular target organ damage.