Antihypertensive effect of spirapril and felodipine during repeated administration to spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The antihypertensive activity of spirapril given alone or in combination with felodipine was investigated in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) during a 3-week treatment regimen and for one week after drug withdrawal. Systolic blood pressure and heart rate were recorded once a week just before dosing and at varying time intervals up to 6 hr thereafter. Recordings were continued for one week after drug withdrawal. Spirapril alone at 1 and 5 mg/kg p.o. was found to produce dose-related antihypertensive effects throughout the treatment period. Felodipine alone at 5 mg/kg p.o. reduced blood pressure slightly more than did the low dose of spirapril. The combination of spirapril and felodipine induced a marked antihypertensive response which was greater than that observed in rats treated with either drug alone. One week after treatment withdrawal, blood pressure was at initial levels with no evidence of rebound phenomena. No significant heart rate changes were observed in the treated groups, as compared with the controls, except for an increase on the 1st day of treatment in rats given felodipine. These findings indicate that the combination of an angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor with a calcium antagonist leads to an effective control of hypertension over a prolonged period of treatment. Since the combination allows effectiveness with lower doses of ACE inhibitor, it is expected that the antihypertensive efficacy might be associated with a lower liability to untoward effects.