Effects of telmisartan on office and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure: an observational study in hypertensive patients managed in primary care

PURPOSE Although elevated blood pressure (BP) predicts future cardiovascular events, recommended BP targets often is not reached in the general community. In a clinical real-life setting we evaluated BP impact and tolerability of the angiotensin-II receptor blocker telmisartan in patients with essential hypertension. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients in this observational study not at target BP started or switched to telmisartan monotherapy (40 or 80 mg) or a fixed-dose combination of telmisartan and hydrochlorothiazide (HCT) 80 mg/12.5 mg. Office and 24-hour ambulatory BP (AMBP) were measured before and after 8 weeks of treatment and physicians reported perceived drug efficacy and tolerability as "Very good", "Good", "Moderate" or "Bad". RESULTS 100 patients (34% female, 60 years, BMI 29.4 kg/m(2), mean office BP 159/92 mmHg) of whom 38% were treatment naïve and 30%, 17%, 9% and 6% respectively were on 1, 2, 3 or 4 BP-lowering drugs, completed 8 weeks of treatment. The proportion of patients with office BP < 140/90 mmHg increased from 3% to 54% for systolic (P < 0.001), 38% to 75% for diastolic (P < 0.001), and 2% to 45% for systolic and diastolic BP (P < 0.001). A significant effect on BP levels was seen in patients being either treatment naïve or on 1 to 3 BP-lowering drugs at study entry, whereas no BP improvement occurred in those who switched from 4 drugs. Overall, mean 24-hour AMBP was reduced from 141/85 to 131/79 mmHg (P < 0.001). Drug efficacy and tolerability were perceived as "Very good" or "Good" by 44%/34% and 66%/27%, respectively. No drug discontinuations or serious adverse events were observed. CONCLUSIONS In this observational study, telmisartan 40 to 80 mg, or the fixed-dose combination telmisartan 80 mg/HCT 12.5 mg, significantly increased the number of patients reaching target BP < 140/90 mmHg if treatment naïve or previously receiving 1 to 3 BP-lowering drugs. The BP reduction achieved was sustained for 24-hour and treatment tolerability was high.