Abstract

Moxonidine (Physiotens-Solvay) was introduced last year as the first of a new class of centrally-acting antihypertensive agents, the selective imidazoline receptor agonists. The manufacturer claims that moxonidine "accurately targets imidazoline receptors at the cardiovascular control centre in the brainstem" and is "as effective as current first-line therapies for essential hypertension". Other claims suggest that it causes fewer unwanted effects than older centrally-acting antihypertensive drugs such as clonidine and methyldopa. Is moxonidine a useful addition to the growing number of antihypertensives on the market?