Efficacy of valsartan on essential hypertension and its influence on endothelial function of brachial artery

AIM: To observe the effect of valsartan on blood pressure and its influence on endothelial function of the brachial artery in patients with essential hypertension (EH). METHODS: The patients with EH (n=35)were treated with valsartan 80mg, qd, for 30 wk. The blood pressure(BP)was measured every 2-4 wk during 30 wk. In EH group (n=35) and control group (n=22), flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD) and nitrogluperin-induced vasodilation (NMD) in the brachial artery were assessed using high-resolution vascular ultrasonic technique. The patients with EH were examined by ultrasonic technique at the end of treatment. RESULTS: At the end of 2 wk, BP decreased significantly in patients with EH treated with valsartan (P 0.01), further antihypertensive effect was maintained during 4-6 wk, and BP decreased continuously up to 30 wk. The total hypotensive rate of valsartan was 51 % at 2 wk and 80 % at 30 wk respectively. FMD and NMD in treatment group were significantly lower than those in control group ((6±5) % vs (18±7) %, P 0.01, and (7±9) % vs (28±11) %, P 0.05). After administration of valsartan, the im-paired FMD restored ((6±5) % vs (10±3) %, P 0.01), but was lower than that of control group (P0.01). CONCLUSION: Valsartan has significant effects on antihypertension, improvement of FMD, restoration of artery endothelium and protection from atherosclerosis.