Fimasartan reduces clinic and home pulse pressure in elderly hypertensive patients: A K-Mets study

Background Angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) are recommended for treating patients with hypertension. However, comparative safety and efficacy of ARB use in elderly patients have not been well established. This study was designed to determine the efficacy of fimasartan, an ARB, in hypertensive elderly patients by measuring clinic and home blood pressures (BPs) and evaluating safety compared to nonelderly patients. Method In the K-MetS study, a nationwide prospective observational study of hypertensive patients on fimasartan, elderly patients (60 years and older) who were treated for 1 year with fimasartan were recruited. BP was evaluated in clinic and at home. Results Of the 6 399 enrolled patients, 2 363 were elderly (46.9% males, mean age 67.3 ± 5.7 years). Fimasartan reduced systolic and diastolic BP (SBP and DBP) in clinic from 144.1 ± 17.3 to 127.7 ± 12.9 mmHg and from 85.1 ± 10.4 to 76.8 ± 8.4 mmHg, respectively, (all p<0.0001) in 1 year. Similar results were found in home BPs. These BP changes were consistent with those in nonelderly patients. However, pulse pressure, a better predictor of cardiovascular events in the elderly, decreased more in elderly than in nonelderly patients by -8.2 ± 0.3 in elderly and -7.0 ± 0.2 mmHg (p<0.0001), respectively, after adjustment for confounding factors. Adverse events were reported in 1.6% of elderly hypertensives, independent of dose, which was consistent with results in nonelderly patients. Conclusions Fimasartan resulted in better pulse pressure reduction with similar BP reduction efficacy and safety in hypertensive elderly patients compared with nonelderly patients.