Managing Hypertension Using Combination Therapy

Am Fam Physician. 2020 Mar 15;101(6):341-349.

Abstract

More than 70% of adults treated for primary hypertension will eventually require at least two antihypertensive agents, either initially as combination therapy or as add-on therapy if monotherapy and lifestyle modifications do not achieve adequate blood pressure control. Four main classes of medications are used in combination therapy for the treatment of hypertension: thiazide diuretics, calcium channel blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs), and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs). ACEIs and ARBs should not be used simultaneously. In black patients, at least one agent should be a thiazide diuretic or a calcium channel blocker. Patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction should be treated initially with a beta blocker and an ACEI or ARB (or an angiotensin receptor-neprilysin inhibitor), followed by add-on therapy with a mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist and a diuretic based on volume status. Treatment for patients with chronic kidney disease and proteinuria should include an ACEI or ARB plus a thiazide diuretic or a calcium channel blocker. Patients with diabetes mellitus should be treated similarly to those without diabetes unless proteinuria is present, in which case combination therapy should include an ACEI or ARB.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Adrenergic beta-Antagonists / therapeutic use*
  • Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists / therapeutic use*
  • Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors / therapeutic use*
  • Antihypertensive Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Blood Pressure / drug effects*
  • Calcium Channel Blockers / therapeutic use*
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Humans
  • Hypertension / drug therapy*
  • Hypertension / physiopathology

Substances

  • Adrenergic beta-Antagonists
  • Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists
  • Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors
  • Antihypertensive Agents
  • Calcium Channel Blockers