COMBINATION THERAPY IN THE MANAGEMENT OF ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION: EFFECTIVENESS OF THE LERCANIDIPINE AND ENALAPRIL COMBINATION

This review presents the evidence on the benefits of fixed-dose combination therapy for arterial hypertension management. The focus is on the combination of a third-generation dihydropyridine calcium antagonist lercanidipine and an ACE inhibitor enalapril. Lercanidipine is characterised by high vascular selectivity and lipophilicity, good antihypertensive effectiveness, and prolonged, gradually developing therapeutic effects. Literature data on the effectiveness of the lercanidipine-enalapril combination are presented. This combination facilitates a marked reduction in blood pressure levels, which is particularly relevant for elderly patients and patients with diabetes mellitus or obesity. The combination of pharmacologic effects of lercanidipine and enalapril provides additional benefits in terms of organ protection and reduction of adverse effects of the antihypertensive treatment.