Aliskiren Plus HCTZ Compared to Aliskiren in Metabolic Syndrome Patients With Stage 2 Systolic Hypertension

Inclusion Criteria: * Patients who are eligible and able to participate in the study, and who give written informed consent before any assessment is performed. * Male or female outpatients ≥ 18 years old. * Patients with stage 2 systolic hypertension. Patients must have a msSBP ≥160 mmHg and \<200 mmHg at Study Visit 5 (randomization). * Patients who have stage 2 systolic hypertension that meet at least 2 additional components of the metabolic syndrome as defined by the National \*Cholesterol Education program (NCEP) criteria: * Abdominal obesity (waist circumference \> than 102 cm for men and \> 88 cm for women) * Current triglycerides ≥ 150 mg/dL or medical treatment for this condition. * Current HDL- Cholesterol \<40 mg/dL in men and \<50 mg/dL in women or medical treatment for this condition. * Fasting glucose \>100 mg/dL and \<126 mg/dL Exclusion Criteria: * Office blood pressure measured by cuff (msDBP ≥ 110 mmHg and or msSBP ≥ 200 mmHg) at any visit. * Use of other investigational drugs at the time of enrollment, or within 30 days or 5 half-lives of enrollment, whichever is longer. * Use of aliskiren and/or a fixed dose combination of aliskiren HCTZ or participation in a clinical trial that had aliskiren and/or aliskiren HCTZ as treatment within 30 days of Visit 1. * History of hypersensitivity to any of the medications or to drugs belonging to a similar therapeutic class (diuretics or renin inhibitors) as the study drugs. * History or evidence of secondary form of hypertension. * Refractory hypertension, defined as unresponsive to triple drug therapy at the maximum dose of each drug, one of which must be a diuretic, and not at blood pressure goal (140/90mmHg). Therapy with a fixed dose combination of two active substances represent two drugs. * Patients on 4 or more antihypertensive medications.