Elderly people treated for high blood pressure with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angionethnsin receptor blockers (ARBs) are at increased risk of kidney failure and death, warn Canadian researchers in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Scientists from the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary set out to investigate the safety of a combination therapy with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angionethnsin receptor blockers (ARBs). The study covered 32 thousand. 312 people 65 years of age and older treated with ACEI and an ARB or one of these groups of drugs.
The authors of the study observed that combination therapy with drugs from both groups increases the risk of kidney damage and death. In addition, it turned out that after 3 months, most of the patients stopped using the combination therapy – in most cases due to a significant drop in blood pressure.
The researchers said, “The most surprising thing was that combination therapy was routinely prescribed to patients without clinically proven indications, and that it was discontinued after a few months, even if there was no renal impairment.”
The most important conclusion from their research is the risk of combining ACEI and ARB drugs in the treatment of hypertension in people over 65 due to the high probability of kidney damage and a reduction in blood pressure that is life-threatening.