Antihypertensive effect and safety of imidapril on the patient with essential hypertension

Imidapril(Tanatril), a newly developed ACE inhibitor, has been used to treat hypertension and congestive heart failure. This study was designed to assess the antihypertensive effect and safety of Imidapril(Tanatril) in patients with essential hypertension. 5-10mg of imidapril(Tanatril) was administered once a day in 30 patients with essential hypertension and followed up for 8 weeks. We tested the drug's effectiveness, safety, and the incidence of imidapril induced dry coughs. After 8 weeks of treatment with imidapril, 76.2%(16/21) of patients showed lowered blood pressure and 47.6% showed normal blood pressure. The overall incidence of adverse effects was 33.3%(7/21), and among these adverse effects, dry cough was shown in only 9.5%. Thus, we concluded that imidapril(Tanatril) is as safe and effective as other ACE inhibitors, especially with imidapril showing very little incidence of dry cough compared to other ACE inhibitors.