Comparative efficacy and safety of combination aliskiren/amlodipine and amlodipine monotherapy in African Americans with stage 2 hypertension and obesity or metabolic syndrome

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is a common link between hypertension and comorbidities of obesity and metabolic syndrome (MetS). We evaluated the antihypertensive efficacy and safety of the combination direct renin inhibitor, aliskiren, with amlodipine versus amlodipine alone in self-identified African Americans with stage 2 hypertension in a subgroup of patients with obesity or MetS participating in the Aliskiren Amlodipine Combination in African AmEricans with Stage 2 HypertenSion (AACESS) trial. Subjects, newly diagnosed and treatment naive or taking three or fewer antihypertensive drugs with a mean sitting systolic blood pressure (msSBP) of 160–199 mm Hg were randomized to receive aliskiren/amlodipine 150/5 mg or amlodipine 5 mg for 1 week; force-titrated to aliskiren/amlodipine 300/10 mg or amlodipine 10 mg, for an additional 7 weeks. Overall, 292 obese (body mass index ≥30 kg/m2) and 197 MetS subjects had baseline msSBP ranging from 167.0 to 167.5 mm Hg. Least-square mean reductions from baseline to 8 weeks in msSBP, the primary efficacy variable, were significantly higher with aliskiren/amlodipine than with amlodipine in both obese (−33.7 mm Hg vs. −27.9 mm Hg; P < .001) and MetS subjects (−36.4 mm Hg vs. −28.5 mm Hg; P < .001). Both treatments were well tolerated. Aliskiren/amlodipine 300/10 mg is more effective than amlodipine 10 mg in African Americans with stage 2 hypertension and obesity or MetS.