Use of Diuretics in Patients with Hypertension

Abstract

T hiazide diuretics became available in the late 1950s and were the first effective oral antihypertensive agents with an acceptable side-effect profile. 1,2 A half-century later, thiazides remain important medications for the treatment of hypertension. These agents reduce blood pressure when administered as monotherapy, enhance the efficacy of other antihypertensive agents, and reduce hypertension-related morbidity and mortality. This review focuses on thiazides, the diuretics most often indicated for long-term therapy for hypertension; loop diuret-ics and potassium-sparing agents are briefly considered. Clinic a l Ph a r m acol ogy of Thi a zides