The UK National Health Service (NHS) currently spends in excess of £250 million per annum on angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) for the treatment of hypertension and heart failure; with candesartan currently dominating the market. With the recent introduction of generic losartan, we set out to directly compare the branded market leader to its now cheaper alternative. The primary objectives...

BACKGROUND Patients with heart failure are at increased risk of sudden death and death attributed to progressive pump failure. We assessed the effect of candesartan on cause-specific mortality in patients enrolled in the Candesartan in Heart failure Assessment of Reduction in Mortality and morbidity (CHARM) program. METHODS AND RESULTS The CHARM program consisted of 3 component trials that en...

ABSTRACT Candesartan Cilexetil is an esterified prodrug of Candesartan, a non-peptide angiotensin II type-1(AT1) receptor antagonist used in the treatment of hypertension and congestive heart failure. Candesartan meets the requirement of high potency but it is poorly absorbed when administered orally. Therefore, the prodrug Candesartan Cilexetil is developed. It is soluble in methylene chloride...

BACKGROUND Angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors improve outcome of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). A substantial proportion of patients, however, experience no benefit from ACE inhibitors because of previous intolerance. We aimed to find out whether candesartan, an angiotensin-receptor blocker, could improve outcome in such patients not taking an ACE inhibitor. METHODS Be...

The effect of pioglitazone, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma agonist, on hypertensive cardiovascular injury is unknown. We examined the effect of pioglitazone on hypertensive cardiovascular injury and the significance of combination of pioglitazone with angiotensin type 1 receptor blocker. Stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) were orally given pioglitazone, can...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The detailed role of angiotensin II in salt-exacerbated stroke is unclear. We examined the role of angiotensin II in salt-accelerated stroke of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP). METHODS Salt-loaded SHRSP were orally given the angiotensin II type 1 (AT1) receptor blocker candesartan (0.3 to 3 mg/kg per day) and calcium channel blocker amlodipine (1 mg...

Yaras N, Bilginoglu A, Vassort G, Turan B. Restoration of diabetes-induced abnormal local Ca release in cardiomyocytes by angiotensin II receptor blockade. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 292: H912–H920, 2007. First published September 29, 2006; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00824.2006.—Stimulation of local renin-angiotensin system and increased levels of oxidants characterize the diabetic heart. Downre...

BACKGROUND Angiotensin II type 1 receptor blockers have favourable effects on haemodynamic measurements, neurohumoral activity, and left-ventricular remodelling when added to angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). We aimed to find out whether these drugs improve clinical outcome. METHODS Between March, 1999, and November, 1999, we enrolled...

AIMS To test whether angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) therapy can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular events compared with non-ARB-based standard pharmacotherapy in coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with hypertension. METHODS AND RESULTS Angiographically documented CAD patients with hypertension were randomly assigned to receive either candesartan-based (n= 1024) or non-ARB-bas...

Background and Purpose. Oxidative stress and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity have been identified as key mediators of early vascular damage after ischemic stroke. Somewhat surprisingly, the angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1) blocker, candesartan, has been shown to acutely increase MMP activity while providing neurovascular protection. We aimed to determine the contribution of MMP and ...