A Comparison of the Effectiveness of Sublingual Losartan, Sublingual Captopril and Sublingual Nifedipine in Hypertensive Urgency

Sixty patients with hypertensive urgency were subdivided into 3 groups of 20 patients each. The first group received sublingual captopril (25 mg), the second group received sublingual nifedipine (10 mg) and the third group received sublingual losartan (50 mg). In the captopril, nifedipine and losartan groups, the mean systolic pressures at the onset of hypertensive urgency were 188.00±23, 190.00±35 and 190.50±21 mmHg respectively. At 90 minutes, in the captopril, nifedipine and losartan groups, the mean systolic blood pressures were 138.50±18, 144.50±25 and 146.25±21 mmHg respectively. In the captopril, nifedipine and losartan groups, the mean diastolic blood pressures at the onset of hypertensive urgency were 116.00±15, 121.50±22 and 109.25±14 mmHg respectively. In the captopril, nifedipine and losartan groups, at 90 minutes, mean diastolic blood pressures were 84.75±10, 95.25±19 and 88.50±12 mmHg respectively. A significant (P<0.05) hypotensive effect of sublingual captopril, nifedipine and losartan therapy occurred at 90 minutes. The results of the study indicate that sublingual losartan is an effective drug in patients with hypertensive urgency