Doxazosin was patented in 1977 and came into medical use in 1988.[4] It is available as a generic medication.[3] In 2021, it was the 195th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 2million prescriptions.[5][6]
A 2021 study associated doxazosin with decelerated biological aging in humans and confirmed its causal role in longevity in C. elegans.[7]
Doxazosin is considered to be effective in reducing urinary symptom scores and improving peak urinary flow in men with benign prostatic hypertrophy.[11] The bladder neck is densely packed with alpha-1 receptors.
Sympatholytic drugs, including prazosin and doxazosin, are used for nightmares and flashbacks in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Doxazosin is very well tolerated for this constellation of symptoms. Given its long half-life, doxazosin lasts much longer than prazosin. While prazosin is dosed up to 4 times daily, doxazosin is generally dosed only once daily (at night). Both are alpha-1 antagonists. Other sympatholytic drugs include clonidine and guanfacine, which are alpha-2 agonists; they are not in the same exact class as doxazosin and prazosin.[citation needed]
The Antihypertensive and Lipid Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) study stopped its arm of the trial looking at alpha blockers, because doxazosin was less effective than a simple diuretic, and because patients on doxazosin had a 25% higher rate of cardiovascular disease and twice the rate of congestive heart failure as patients on diuretics.[12] Pfizer, aware of the results before publication, launched a marketing campaign in early 2000, and sales were largely unaffected, despite the dangers highlighted by the study.[13][14] The decision to stop the trial was controversial because the higher rate of heart failure (HF) in the doxazosin group could have been caused by misdiagnosis due to fluid retention from the medication, or because patients with existing HF stopped their diuretic treatment to switch to doxazosin. However, in the later ASCOT trial, where doxazosin was used as a third-line treatment, there was no increase in HF risk.[15]
^Wykretowicz A, Guzik P, Wysocki H (March 2008). "Doxazosin in the current treatment of hypertension". Expert Opinion on Pharmacotherapy. 9 (4): 625–633. doi:10.1517/14656566.9.4.625. PMID18312163. S2CID42056694.
^Mazza A, Armigliato M, Marzola MC, Schiavon L, Montemurro D, Vescovo G, et al. (April 2014). "Anti-hypertensive treatment in pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma: current management and therapeutic features". Endocrine. 45 (3): 469–478. doi:10.1007/s12020-013-0007-y. PMID23817839. S2CID25504151.
^Yuan J, Liu Y, Yang Z, Qin X, Yang K, Mao C (March 2013). "The efficacy and safety of alpha-1 blockers for benign prostatic hyperplasia: an overview of 15 systematic reviews". Current Medical Research and Opinion. 29 (3): 279–287. doi:10.1185/03007995.2013.766594. PMID23323875. S2CID26341029.
^Mancia G, Kreutz R, Brunström M, Burnier M, Grassi G, Januszewicz A, et al. (December 2023). "2023 ESH Guidelines for the management of arterial hypertension The Task Force for the management of arterial hypertension of the European Society of Hypertension: Endorsed by the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) and the European Renal Association (ERA)". Journal of Hypertension. 41 (12): 1874–2071. doi:10.1097/HJH.0000000000003480. PMID37345492.
