[Irbesartan: a new possibility in the treatment of hypertension].

Hypertension means a basic public health problem in many countries in the world. The therapeutic attempts of the last years did not fulfill the hopes pinned on them, and most of the patients live with blood pressure above the goal value. This is why there is a need for new, more efficient antihypertensive drugs. On the 1st of July, 2001 irbesartan (Aprovel) was introduced in practice in Hungary. The drug belongs to the family of the angiotensin II receptor inhibitors. Several clinical studies were made with irbesartan in order to evaluate its efficiency, tolerability and safety. In other studies it was compared with other antihypertensive treatments and it was found that irbesartan decreases the systolic and diastolic blood pressure as effectively as other first line medicaments. The author summarizes the most important characteristics of irbesartan as well as the results of those clinical studies which show evidence that irbesartan deserves a special place among antihypertensive drugs.