A dose of reserpine 0.5 mg/day or greater achieved the SBP effects .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS Reserpine is effective in reducing SBP roughly to the same degree as other first-line antihypertensive drugs .
BACKGROUND Many antihypertensive agents exist today for the treatment of primary hypertension ( systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg , or both ) .
R and omised controlled trials ( RCTs ) have been carried out to investigate the evidence for these agents .
There is , for example , strong RCT evidence that thiazides reduce mortality and morbidity .
Some of those trials used reserpine as a second-line therapy .
However , the dose-related blood pressure reduction with this agent is not known .
OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this review was to quantify the dose-related efficacy of reserpine versus placebo or no treatment in reducing systolic blood pressure ( SBP ) or diastolic blood pressure ( DBP ) , or both .
We also aim ed to evaluate the dose-related effects of reserpine  on mean arterial blood pressure ( MAP ) and heart rate ( HR ) , as well as the dose-related effects on withdrawals due to adverse events .
Anti-hypertensive adrenergic-blocking agents: effects on sodium balance, the renin-angiotensin system and haemodynamics.
1 . The changes in plasma volume , haemodynamic variables , plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone were studied in forty-one hypertensive patients after administration of adrenergic-blocking agents .  Four drugs were used : alpha-methyldopa ( fourteen patients ) , guanethidine ( ten patients ) , clonidine ( nine patients ) and reserpine ( eight patients ) . Drugs were administered orally during 7 days ' hospitalization on a normal sodium diet ( 110 mmol/day ) . 2 . The four drugs had similar effects : a significant decrease in blood pressure , a significant increase in plasma volume and no change in stroke volume . 3 . With alpha-methyldopa and guanethidine , heart rate , plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone were unchanged . 4 . With reserpine and clonidine , heart rate and plasma renin activity were significantly decreased , whereas plasma aldosterone did not change significantly . 5 . This study suggests that the decrease in plasma renin activity was related to the lowering of the heart rate rather than to sodium retention and that adrenergic-blocking agents can impair the normal relationship between stroke index and plasma volume , between plasma volume and plasma renin activity , and between plasma renin activity and plasma aldosterone
A dose of reserpine 0.5 mg/day or greater achieved the SBP effects .
AUTHORS ' CONCLUSIONS Reserpine is effective in reducing SBP roughly to the same degree as other first-line antihypertensive drugs .
BACKGROUND Many antihypertensive agents exist today for the treatment of primary hypertension ( systolic blood pressure ≥ 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure ≥ 90 mmHg , or both ) .
R and omised controlled trials ( RCTs ) have been carried out to investigate the evidence for these agents .
There is , for example , strong RCT evidence that thiazides reduce mortality and morbidity .
Some of those trials used reserpine as a second-line therapy .
However , the dose-related blood pressure reduction with this agent is not known .
OBJECTIVES The primary objective of this review was to quantify the dose-related efficacy of reserpine versus placebo or no treatment in reducing systolic blood pressure ( SBP ) or diastolic blood pressure ( DBP ) , or both .
We also aim ed to evaluate the dose-related effects of reserpine  on mean arterial blood pressure ( MAP ) and heart rate ( HR ) , as well as the dose-related effects on withdrawals due to adverse events .