Xu SK, et al. - In patients with uncontrolled hypertension included in a prespecified subgroup analysis of a 12-week randomized multicenter study, researchers investigated how ambulatory blood pressure (BP) and arterial stiffness evaluated by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (PWV) were altered by valsartan/amlodipine 80/5-mg single-pill combination (n=75) and nifedipine GITS 30 mg (n=75). Superior efficacy of valsartan/amlodipine combination vs nifedipine GITS was demonstrated in attenuating BP in sustained uncontrolled hypertension and non-dippers, as well as in lowering arterial stiffness independent of BP lowering. Favoring valsartan/amlodipine, smaller between-treatment mean differences in systolic/diastolic BP levels were observed at week 12 for 24-hour and daytime (–2.1/–1.7 and −2.0/−1.5 mm Hg, respectively) periods, but these differences were greater for nighttime (–4.0/-2.8 mm Hg), especially in sustained uncontrolled hypertension (−5.0/−4.1 mm Hg) and non-dippers (−6.5/−3.7 mm Hg).