A comparison of single doses of lisinopril and enalapril in hypertension.

Sixteen patients with mild to moderate hypertension were studied in a double-blind crossover comparison of single oral doses of lisinopril 10 mg and enalapril 10 mg. Both drugs caused a marked fall in blood pressure (BP) with a clinically useful effect persisting for 24 h postdose and with no significant difference between treatments in this respect. The time to minimum systolic BP was 2 h (95% confidence limits 0-19 h) longer for lisinopril. The fall in ACE activity at 24 h was 18.5 (8.2-28.8) U/l greater for lisinopril. We conclude that, within the limits of this small study, lisinopril appears to be as effective as enalapril in lowering BP and that it may have a slower onset of action that could be clinically valuable.