Penbutolol: comparison of its antihypertensive effect with that of alpha-methyldopa in patients with primary hypertension

The antihypertensive effect of 80 mg/day of the newly synthesized beta-blocker 1-tert. butylamino-3-(2-cyclo-pentylphenoxy)-2-propanol-sulfate (penbutolol, Hoe 893d) was studied in patients (n = 36) suffering from primary hypertension in comparison to the effect of 750 mg alpha-methyldopa/day. It was demonstrated that the therapeutic effect of both drugs is identical. Furthermore it was shown that the antihypertensive effect of penbutolol under an uncontrolled diet is unrelated to the patient's basal plasma-renin concentration.