This is a series of systematically-administered n-of-1 trials among children with essential hypertension to verify the need for ongoing antihypertensive treatment and if so, to identify the preferred single drug therapy from among the three major classes of drugs commonly used for essential hypertension (angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, and diuretics). The investigators will determine whether there is one that is preferred for the great majority of patients. The "preferred" therapy will be defined as the drug which produces normal ambulatory blood pressure, with the greatest reduction in awake mean systolic blood pressure without unacceptable side effects.
For each patient, the order of the 3 drugs will be assigned randomly and each drug will be taken for 2 weeks. The effectiveness of each drug will be measured with 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, and tolerability will be assessed using a side effect questionnaire. Participants will rotate through treatment periods, repeating drugs and adjusting doses until the preferred therapy is identified. In assessing whether one the medications is most effective for the great majority of subjects, the primary outcome will be the percentage of participants for whom each drug is selected as the preferred therapy. Primary hypothesis: no drug will be selected for the majority of the subjects, a finding that would support consideration of clinical use of n-of-1 trials. Secondary analyses will explore whether patient characteristics predict which medication will be selected as a preferred drug.
