The combination of two old diuretics – Amiloride and Hydrochlorothiazide – at half-doses provides synergistic blood pressure lowering beyond the full doses of either drug alone while neutralizing the thiazide diuretic’s blood glucose– and uric acid–raising side effects, according to the results of the PATHWAY-3 trial. “We think this combination of amiloride and hydrochlorothiazide at equipotent doses is a ‘win win,’ ” Dr. Morris J. Brown said in presenting the study findings at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology.
“Since unlocking the data, we’ve scarcely been able to contain our excitement at the results. I believe these results will return potassium-sparing diuretics to prominence,” said Dr. Brown, professor of clinical pharmacology at the University of Cambridge (England). The thiazide diuretics as a group have fallen out of favor because of their adverse…
