Olmesartan in Essential Hypertension

Efficacy and Safety of Olmesartan: Reduction of Blood Pressure in the Treatment of Patients Suffering From Mild to Moderate Essential Hypertension

To test the efficacy and safety of olmesartan in patients with essential hypertension.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age: 18 (19 if required by local authorities) to 75 years
• Males and females of any race. Female participants must take adequate contraceptive measures (oral contraceptives, I.U.D.), be post-menopausal or surgically sterilized
• Essential hypertension: sitting DBP greater than or equal to 90 and less than 110 mmHg
• Written Informed Consent
• Mentally competent
• Negative pregnancy test in women at a childbearing age at the beginning of the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with known severe (World Health Organization (WHO) stage III, sitting DBP stable at greater than or equal to 110 mmHg), malignant or secondary hypertension
• Patients who have had a myocardial infarction or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) within the last 6 months
• Patients with a history or current evidence of congestive heart failure
• Bilateral renal artery stenosis
• Severe renal insufficiency (serum creatinine greater than 200 micro mol/l)
• Severe hepatic impairment or biliary obstruction