Long-Term Therapy with Nifedipine-CR Improves Arterio-Sclerosis Related Markers in Patients with Untreated Essential Hypertension

Increased arteriosclerosis is associated with high risk of cardiovascular events. Several non-invasive markers for arteriosclerosis have been introduced, such as pulse wave velocity (PWV), augmentation index (AI), and carotid prop- erties assessed by echogram, to estimate the current risk and therapeutic merit of antihypertensives. In this study, 17 hy- pertensive patients were treated with nifedipine-CR alone for one year, and the non-invasive markers were simultaneously monitored every 3 months. Nifedipine-CR treatment achieved stable blood pressure control, and PWV and AI improved in parallel with the blood pressure. Interestingly, the elastic property of the carotid artery progressively decreased and there was a significant difference between the results at 3 and 12 months (85.8 ± 6.1 vs 72.4 ± 5.0 kPa, P = 0.009). In- tima-media thickness of the carotid artery also decreased. In conclusion, nifedipine-CR demonstrated a stable anti-sclerotic quality in hypertensive patients and seems to be prominent in large arteries such as the carotid.