[Efficacy and tolerance of the bisoprolol/hydrochlorothiazide combination in arterial hypertension]. / Eficácia e tolerabilidade da associação bisoprolol/ hidroclorotiazida na hipertensão arterial.

PURPOSE: Multicenter, open and non-controlled study to evaluated the efficacy and the tolerability of a low-dose combination of two anti-hypertensive agents: a cardioselective beta-blocker, bisoprolol (2.5 and 5.0 mg) with 6.25 mg of hydrochlorothiazide. METHODS: One hundred and six patients in the stage I and stage II of the systemic hypertension (mild to moderate) were given the bisoprolol/hydrochlorothiazide combination once daily and the diastolic and systolic blood pressures were monitored during the 8-week trial. RESULTS: The bisoprolol/hydrochlorothiazide combination reduced the initial mean values of systolic and diastolic blood pressures, respectively, from the 157.4 mmHg and 98.8 mmHg to 137.3 mmHg and 87.4 mmHg. At the end of the treatment period, 61% of the patients normalized blood pressure values (< 90 mmHg) and 22.9% of them had responded to the treatment, resulting in a total response rate (normalized + responsive) of 83.9% of cases. Adverse events were described only in 18.9% of the patients and dizziness and headache were the most common. There were no clinically significant changes on plasma levels of potassium, uric acid, glucose, or in the lipid profile. CONCLUSION: The combination of low dosages of bisoprolol and hydrochlorothiazide may be considered an effective, well tolerated and rational alternative for the initial treatment of the patients with mild to moderate hypertension.

[Trends in cholesterol levels in the adult population of São José do Rio Preto]. / Evolução dos níveis de colesterol na população adulta de São José do Rio Preto (1991-1997).

PURPOSE: To develop a survey about risk factors for atherosclerosis in a > or = 20-year-old population from São José do Rio Preto, and compare the results with those obtained in a similar survey in 1991. METHODS: Quantitative survey with sample stratified by sex and age. The individuals (a total of 646, 303 men) where contacted in outpatient facilities from the Health Secretary and other populated sites, distributed by geographic zone and social class of different neighborhoods. The standard error of the survey was 4%, and the confidence interval was 95%. RESULTS: A) Mean HDL-cholesterol (only in 1997): male gender 43.7 +/- 15 mg/dL, female gender 49.6 +/- 13.5 mg/dL (p < 0.001, 95% CI 3.7 a 8.1). B) Mean total cholesterol in 1991 vs 1997: for the global population 192.5 +/- 48.9 mg/dL vs 190.5 +/- 42.5 mg/dL (p = NS); for men 187.6 +/- 53.3 mg/dL vs 190.5 +/- 42.5 mg/dL (p = NS); for women 196.8 +/- 40 mg/dL vs 187.6 +/- 37.8 mg/dL (p = 0.008, 95% CI 2.4 a 15.9). C) By regression analysis, the variables that correlated significantly with cholesterol levels, in both surveys, were: age (p < 0.001), systolic (p < 0.001) and diastolic (p < 0.001) arterial pressure, diet (p < 0.001). Female gender showed correlation only in the 1991 survey (p = 0.011), and sedentarism only in 1997 (p = 0.014). CONCLUSION: The mean cholesterol levels in the adult population of São José do Rio Preto are very favorable and, in female gender, showed a significant decrease in the 1997 survey, relatively to the 1991 survey.