RESUMO
The effect of long-acting nicardipine tablets on diurnal variation of blood pressure was compared with that of standard nicardipine tablets and long-acting nifedipine tablets by 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring in 35 patients with hypertension. Long-acting nicardipine decreased systolic blood pressure in each age group, and there was no difference in its anti-hypertensive effect when compared with the other two drugs. All three drugs had no effect on the amplitude of daily blood pressure variation, and all three drugs decreased the baseline blood pressure in each age group when compared with untreated patients. In addition, no change was observed in the decrement of baseline blood pressure after switching from the other two drugs to long-acting nicardipine. Long-acting nicardipine had less effect on diurnal blood pressure variation than standard nicardipine tablets, which are administered three times daily. In each age group, long-acting nicardipine also more effectively inhibited the increase in cardiac work resulting from the morning rise phenomenon when compared with standard nicardipine tablets. These findings suggest that long-acting nicardipine may be a more useful preparation for the treatment of essential hypertension, particularly in elderly patients.