Angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) are becoming one of the most commonly prescribed classes of antihypertensives in the US.1,2 50 million prescriptions were written for the ARB losartan in the US in 2017.2 This was the 14th most prescribed medication in the US that year. However, three other classes of antihypertensive medications were prescribed more frequently in 2017: lisinopril (106 million), metoprolol (89 million), and amlodipine (88 million).
In the US, use of ARBs as a monotherapy or as part of combination therapy amounted to 10.5% (1.0 standard error [SE]) of all antihypertensive prescriptions in 2001 – 2002.1 By 2009 – 2010, ARB use increased by 100% to 22.2% (1.6 SE, ptrend<0.01). The most common ARBs in use in 2009 – 2010 were valsartan (5.2%), losartan (4.1%), and olmesartan (2.0%). Losartan was the first ARB to become available in generic form in 2010, quickly followed by eprosartan and irbesartan.
The 2017 hypertension guidelines3 from the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) list ARBs as one of the four antihypertensive classes recommended for first-line treatment of hypertension. There are 12 classes of medications listed in the guideline.
References
- Gu Q, Burt VL, Dillon CF, Yoon S. Trends in antihypertensive medication use and blood pressure control among United States adults with hypertension: the National Health And Nutrition Examination Survey, 2001 to 2010. Circulation 2012; 126 (17): 2105-2114.
- Aitken M, Kleinrock M. Medicine use and spending in the U.S.: a review of 2017 and outlook to 2022. In: Parsippany, NJ: IQVIA Institute for Human Data Science; 2018: https://www.iqvia.com/-/media/iqvia/pdfs/institute-reports/medicine-use-and-spending-in-the-us-a-review-of-2017-and-outlook-to-2022.pdf?
- Whelton PK, Carey RM, Aronow WS, et al. 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA guideline for the prevention, detection, evaluation, and management of high blood pressure in adults: executive summary: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Hypertension 2017.
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