[The blood pressure lowering effect of bisoprolol, a beta 1-selective receptor blocker--a multicenter study in general practice conditions].

The antihypertensive efficacy and compatibility of 5 or 10 mg bisoprolol (Concor) was investigated in patients suffering from essential hypertension (stages I and II according to WHO) in a multicentre, open, non-randomized study. In total, 132 patients were included in the study of 11 outpatient departments. Seventeen patients dropped out because of personal reasons or mistakes of the protocol. If the diastolic blood pressure did not decrease to values < or = 90 mm Hg at the end of the first period of treatment with 5 mg bisoprolol, the dose was doubled to 10 mg within the second period of antihypertensive treatment. At the end of the first period the mean blood pressure decreased from 161.5/104.1 to 141.4/90.8 and after additional 4 weeks to 137.3/87.9 mm Hg. The mean heart rate decreased from 77.5 to 68.8 and 67.7/min, resp. The physicians who treated the patients rated the antihypertensive effect on 80.9% of the patients as good. Undesirable effects of bisoprolol were observed in 20 patients (15.2%). In total, bisoprolol has a good antihypertensive effect. It can be used in most patients as a monotherapeutic drug for treatment of stages I and II of hypertension with daily doses of 5 mg.