Abstract

Clonidine (Catapres - Boehringer Ingelheim) has been used for the treatment of arterial hypertension for almost 10 years¹ and has proved to be as effective as methyldopa^{2 3} and propranolol.⁴ However when clonidine is abruptly stopped there is the risk of rebound hypertension. This was first reported in 1969⁵ and since then has become increasingly well recognised. Rebound hypertension has not been observed after stopping diuretics or β-blockers,⁶ but there are two case reports of it occurring after stopping methyldopa^{7 8} and three after stopping sympathetic neurone blockers.⁶