Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition in cardiovascular disease: evidence with perindopril.

Perindopril is a long-acting, once-daily lipophilic angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor with high tissue angiotensin-converting enzyme affinity, lowering angiotensin II and potentiating bradykinin. Its efficacy, safety and tolerability are well established in the treatment of hypertension and heart failure. Moreover, large morbidity-mortality trials, such as the EUropean trial on Reduction Of cardiac events with Perindopril in stable coronary Artery disease (EUROPA) and Perindopril pROtection aGainst REcurrent Stroke Study (PROGRESS), have shown that antihypertensive treatment with perindopril reduces and prevents cardiovascular disease in a large range of patients with vascular diseases, whether hypertensive or not. Thus, the outcome of these and other trials support the concept of cardiovascular protective properties of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition with perindopril in addition to the obvious blood-pressure-lowering effect. Considering its properties and the gathered clinical evidence on efficacy and tolerability, perindopril fulfils the criteria of the latest guidelines for hypertension and cardiovascular disease management and should therefore be considered as a first-line antihypertensive agent, forming a consistent part of the comprehensive strategy against hypertension and related cardiovascular complications.