Fixed-drug combinations as first-line treatment for hypertension.

As combinations of drugs from different classes that have synergistic or additive effect and properties to cancel out each others' untoward hemodynamic and metabolic effects become more and more widely used, their use as first-line therapy for the treatment of newly diagnosed hypertensive patients is growing in popularity as well. The possibility to begin therapy with a fixed 2-drug combination may be preferable to starting with monotherapy followed by upward titration and addition of other agents. More and more combinations are coming out on the market and proving their effectiveness in randomized controlled trials and in large multicenter studies. One suggestion is the "polypill," a fixed combination of multiple agents that address various components of the metabolic syndrome and coexisting common risk factors in both high-risk patients with conditions requiring polypharmacy, and in healthy asymptomatic individuals.