Bisoprolol and nifedipine SR in the treatment of hypertension in the elderly.

Forty outpatients (11 men and 29 women) aged between 65 and 85 years (mean age of 68 years) with mild to moderate hypertension [mean systolic/diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) after 2 weeks on placebo of 175/102 mm Hg] were included in a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group study to compare the efficacy and tolerance of 10 mg of bisoprolol once daily (o.d., n=20) and 20 mg of nifedipine sustained release (SR) b.i.d. (n=20) during 4 weeks of treatment. SBP and DBP were significantly reduced compared to baseline with both treatments. There was no significant difference in efficacy between the two treatments after 2 and 4 weeks. After 2 weeks, the number of patients with normalized DBP (≤90 mm Hg) was higher with bisoprolol than with nifedipine, this difference no longer being present after 4 weeks