Aprocitentan——A New Drug for Treatment of Refractory Hypertension
Refractory hypertension (RH) is a special type of hypertension that seriously affects human health. Although there are detailed management approaches and many drugs available,some patients still have uncontrollable BP. On March 19,2024,the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved aprocitentan,a new drug for treating patients with RH.Aprocitentan is an orally active dual endothelin-1 (ET-1) receptor antagonist that treats hypertension by preventing the binding of ET-1 to ETA/ETB receptors. It can enhance the antihypertensive effect with other antihypertensive drugs and provide more profound cardiovascular protection for RH patients. The most common adverse reaction is mild to moderate edema or fluid retention. The mechanism of action,pharmacokinetics,clinical trials and safety of Aprocitentan were reviewed in this article.