Initiating ARB Linked to Best Long-Term Class Persistence in Hypertension

FRIDAY, Jan. 2, 2026 (HealthDay News) — For patients with hypertension, initiating treatment with an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) is associated with the best long-term class persistence, according to a study published online Dec. 19 in eClinicalMedicine.

Karl Laurell, M.D., from Uppsala University in Sweden, and colleagues examined whether initiating treatment with a particular antihypertensive drug class will determine later persistence (defined as using dispensed prescription refills with at least 80 percent adherence) in a study involving 341,182 individuals starting antihypertensive treatment with an ARB, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, calcium channel blocker, thiazide/thiazide-like diuretic, or single-pill combination of two drugs in 2011 to 2018.

The researchers found that there was an association for initiating treatment with an ARB with a larger proportion continuing their original drug class or any antihypertensive drug class at any point during the five years of follow-up. Overall, 44.7 percent of the ARB initiators were continuously persistent to their original drug class at three years; if intermittent discontinuations were allowed, the corresponding number was 81.8 percent. About 80 percent of all new users of antihypertensive drugs were persistent to at least one antihypertensive drug class over five years if intermittent discontinuations and changes between classes were allowed.

“For patients and doctors, these findings mean that ARB drugs should be the preferred choice when treatment for high blood pressure is initiated, unless there are obvious reasons to choose something else,” Laurell said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Abstract/Full Text