Source: Angiology  |  Posted 9 years ago

A fixed-dose combination of telmisartan plus hydrochlorothiazide is more effective for mild to moderate hypertension than telmisartan alone.

Investigators from the Center Hospitalier Universitaire de Qu?bec in Qu?bec and Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd., in Burlington, Ontario, Canada, compared the combination of the angiotensin II antagonist telmisartan (40 milligrams) plus the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (12.5 milligrams) with telmisartan alone in 327 patients who had failed to respond adequately to telmisartan monotherapy.

Patients were randomized to receive either the combined therapy (n=160) or the monotherapy (n=167).

Results showed that combination therapy lowered diastolic blood pressure by 3.5 mmHg more and systolic blood pressure by 7.4 mmHg more than monotherapy after eight weeks of treatment. The greatest benefit was seen after four weeks.

After eight weeks, 51.6 percent of the patients receiving the combination therapy had normalized blood pressure compared with 23.5 percent in the monotherapy group. Diastolic blood pressured was normalized in 64.8 percent of the combination therapy patients compared with 40.1 percent of the monotherapy patients.

A decrease in systolic blood pressure of at least 10 mmHg was achieved in 63.5 percent of the combination therapy patients compared with 42.6 percent of the monotherapy patients.

Both treatments were well-tolerated with adverse events being mild, transient or unrelated to the therapy.