The Ewha Medical Journal
Ewha Womans University School of Medicine
Original Article

A Clinical Evaluation on the Antihypertensive Effect of Losartan(Cozaar®)

Seong-Hoon Park, Young-Mi Park

Copyright ⓒ 1999. Ewha Womans University School of Medicine. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Published Online: Dec 31, 1999

Abstract

Background

Although angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors have provided plausible effect for the management of hypertension and congestive heart failure, it does have drawbacks such as dry cough in as much as 15 to 30% of patients and incomplete blocking of angiotensin II production. Losartan(Cozaar®) is the first angiotensin II receptor antagonist that has become clinically available as an antihypertensive agent. Because the agent effectively blocks the final common pathway of renin-angiotensin system, it is recognized as an ideal drug for the treatment of hypertension.

Method

We tested the antihypertensive effect and clinical safety of Losartan(Cozaar®) 50mg/day in 22 patients(male : 12, female : 10, age : 51±11, range : 33-70) with stage I and II hypertension from July 1998 to October 1999. The patients were enrolled in the study after two weeks of washout period if the patient was using other antihypertensive drugs. Blood pressure and side effects were monitored at zero, second, sixth, and twelfth week. Baseline chemistry was done before drug administration and follow-up chemistry was done at twelfth week.

Results

Losartan(Cozaar®) showed good patient compliance and good antihypertensive effect without significant changes of laboratory results or clinical complications. At twelfth week, mean systolic blood pressure dropped l9mmHg, and mean diastolic blood pressure dropped 11mmHg. The heart rate showed no significant change during the study period. Blood pressure was controlled below 140/90mmHg in 12(54.5%) patients with Losartan 50mg/day. Five patients complained of minor side effects(dizziness, facial numbness, epigastric discomfort, etc) but no patients discontinued medication due to side effects.

Conclusion

Losartan(Cozaar®) is a safe and effective antihypertensive agent for the treatment of stage I and II hypertensive patients as a single once-a-day treatment.

Keywords: Losartan; Hypertension