Angiotensin-II Receptor Antagonists: New Generation Antihypertensives

The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) has a central role in the expression and modulation of cardiovascular diseases, particularly, hypertension. The development of non-peptide, orally active angiotensin II receptor antagonists is the most recent focus area in antihypertensive drug development. Angiotensin II receptor antagonists/blockers (ARBs) are recognized as one of the most effective means of lowering blood pressure in hypertensive patients as these overcome the limitations of other drug classes such as angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, beta blockers or renin inhibitors. ARBs offer cardiovascular and renal protection benefits independent of their effects on systemic blood pressure, which makes them valuable as first line antihypertensive agents, especially in high-risk patients. Due to these facts, recent years have seen a spurt in the introduction of newer agents structurally related to losartan, the prototypic agent of this class.