Telmisartan useful for early morning blood pressure surges
Telmisartan (Micardis), an angiotensin-II receptor antagonist, can prevent dangerous early morning blood pressure surges, according to a study presented at a recent meeting of the European
Society of Hypertension.
Telmisartan 40mg and 80mg, both combined with hydrochlorothiazide 12.5mg,
resulted in better diastolic and systolic blood pressure reductions during
the early morning hours than losartan (Cozaar) 50mg plus
hydrochlorothiazide 12.5mg. This time is risky for many patients with
hypertension
because a blood pressure spike may trigger
cardiovascular events.
In the study, 805 patients with mild to moderate hypertension were randomly
assigned to the three treatment regimens. Both telmisartan fixed-dose
combinations reduced blood pressure more than the losartan fixed-dose
combination. A spokesman for Merck Sharpe & Dohme, manufacturer of
Cozaar, pointed out that prescribers are increasingly using 50–100mg
of losartan together with hydrochlorothiazide. “This combination
was shown to reduce the incidence of strokes in the LIFE (losartan intervention
for endpoint reduction) study — leading to a new licensed indication
for losartan.” |
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