Chronopharmacology: Appraising the Influence of Biorhythms on the Efficacy and Safety of Antihypertensive Drugs.

This review is dedicated to chronopharmacology and chronotherapeutics of hypertension interventions. The aim of chronopharmacology is to determine the most suitable time for administration of a drug to enhance efficacy and safety, prevent tolerance, and minimize the untoward effects of the given therapy. In other words, chronotherapeutics and chronopharmacology optimize drug therapy through matching the disease rhythms to drug availability. Chronobiological principles to optimize the therapeutic effects of antihypertensive drugs attained significance a few decades ago. Circadian rhythm plays a pivotal role in the regulation of blood pressure and expresses as a contender for application of chronotherapeutics. Changes in the normal circadian rhythmic pattern of blood pressure also foretell the risk for developing cardiovascular events. This review highlights studies conducted on the chronopharmacology of different antihypertensive drug classes and prospective areas of chronotherapy to make it comprehensible for application in clinical practice to achieve optimum control of hypertension.