title: Effects of telmisartan on office and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure: an observational study in hypertensive patients managed in primary care.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  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.
  
  
  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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Volvat Medical Centre, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Frederic
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kontny
authors.forename: Terje
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Risanger
authors.forename: Arne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bye
authors.forename: Øyvind
authors.initials: Ø
authors.lastname: Arnesen
authors.forename: Odd Erik
authors.initials: OE
authors.lastname: Johansen
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D047228:Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001562:Benzimidazoles / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001565:Benzoates / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D018660:Blood Pressure Monitoring, Ambulatory; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006852:Hydrochlorothiazide / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D000077333:Telmisartan
chemical_list: D047228:Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers; D001562:Benzimidazoles; D001565:Benzoates; D006852:Hydrochlorothiazide; D000077333:Telmisartan