PRESTALIA contains perindopril arginine, an angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, and amlodipine, a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker, and is indicated for the treatment of hypertension, to lower blood pressure.

PRESTALIA may be used in patients whose blood pressure is not adequately controlled on monotherapy.

PRESTALIA may be used as initial therapy in patients likely to need multiple drugs to achieve blood pressure goals.

Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events, primarily strokes and myocardial infarctions.

These benefits have been seen in controlled trials of antihypertensive drugs from a wide variety of pharmacologic classes, including amlodipine and the ACE inhibitor class to which perindopril principally belongs. There are no controlled trials demonstrating risk reduction with PRESTALIA.

Control of high blood pressure should be part of comprehensive cardiovascular risk management, including, as appropriate, lipid control, diabetes management, antithrombotic therapy, smoking cessation, exercise, and limited sodium intake. Many patients will require more than one drug to achieve blood pressure goals. For specific advice on goals and management, see published guidelines, such as those of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program's Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC).

Numerous antihypertensive drugs, from a variety of pharmacologic classes and with different mechanisms of action, have been shown in randomized controlled trials to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and it can be concluded that it is blood pressure reduction, and not some other pharmacologic property of the drugs, that is largely responsible for those benefits. The largest and most consistent cardiovascular outcome benefit has been a reduction in the risk of stroke, but reductions in myocardial infarction and cardiovascular mortality also have been seen regularly.

Elevated systolic or diastolic pressure causes increased cardiovascular risk, and the absolute risk increase per mmHg is greater at higher blood pressures, so that even modest reductions of severe hypertension can provide substantial benefit. Relative risk reduction from blood pressure reduction is similar across populations with varying absolute risk, so the absolute benefit is greater in patients who are at higher risk independent of their hypertension (for example, patients with diabetes or hyperlipidemia), and such patients would be expected to benefit from more aggressive treatment to a lower blood pressure goal.

Some antihypertensive drugs have smaller blood pressure effects (as monotherapy) in black patients, and many antihypertensive drugs have additional approved indications and effects (e.g., on angina, heart failure, or diabetic kidney disease). These considerations may guide selection of therapy. In a clinical trial of PRESTALIA, treatment with PRESTALIA 14/10 mg did not provide additional antihypertensive effect beyond that achieved with use of amlodipine 10 mg in black and diabetic patients [see Clinical Studies (14)].

The choice of PRESTALIA as initial therapy for hypertension should be based on an assessment of potential benefits and risks including whether the patient is likely to tolerate the starting dose of PRESTALIA.

Patients with moderate-to-severe hypertension are at a relatively high risk of cardiovascular events (e.g., stroke, heart attack, and heart failure), kidney failure, and vision problems, so prompt treatment is clinically relevant. Consider the patient's baseline blood pressure, target goal and the incremental likelihood of achieving the goal with a combination product, such as PRESTALIA, versus a monotherapy product when deciding upon initial therapy. Individual blood pressure goals may vary based on the patient's risk.

Data from an 6-week, active-controlled trial provide estimates of the probability of reaching a target blood pressure with PRESTALIA compared with perindopril erbumine or amlodipine monotherapy [see Clinical Studies (14)].

Figures 1.a-1.d provide estimates of the likelihood of achieving target clinic systolic and diastolic blood pressure control with PRESTALIA 14/10 mg tablets after 6 weeks, based on baseline systolic and diastolic blood pressure. The curve for each treatment group was estimated by logistic regression modeling and is less well defined in the tails.

For example, a patient with a baseline blood pressure of 170/105 mmHg has approximately a 26% likelihood of achieving a goal of <140 mmHg (systolic) and 31% likelihood of achieving <90 mmHg (diastolic) on perindopril erbumine 16 mg. The likelihood of achieving these same goals on amlodipine 10 mg is approximately 40% (systolic) and 46% (diastolic). These likelihoods rise to 50% (systolic) and 65% (diastolic) with PRESTALIA 14/10 mg.