Pharmacoeconomics of combination antihypertensive therapy

Antihypertensive treatment should provide optimal health benefits while minimizing treatment costs. Most patients require a combination of drugs to achieve blood pressure goals. Two studies have shown that switching to fixed-dose combination therapy is effective, well tolerated, and cost-effective for most patients. A fixed-dose combination agent containing a diuretic and a β-blocker, an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, or an angiotensin II receptor antagonist is generally more effective, better tolerated, and does not cost more than the non-diuretic component. Therefore, the associated health-care resource costs of using these fixed-dose combination products should be less than those associated with the use of monotherapy.