ABSTRACT
Blood pressure is not adequately controlled in almost 50% of patients with hypertension who are in receipt of antihypertensive therapy. This multicentre, prospective, open-label trial was designed to determine whether or not once-daily telmisartan 80 mg reduced blood pressure during the last 6 h of the 24-h dosing interval in patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension who were unresponsive to previous antihypertensive therapy. The study comprised 100 patients (47 males, 53 females) who had failed to respond satisfactorily to prior treatment given for a minimum of 3 months. At screening, 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) was conducted after the patient had been treated with the currently prescribed antihypertensive medication. Following 5 weeks of telmisartan 80 mg treatment, ABPM was repeated. Telmisartan significantly reduced mean systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and pulse pressure compared with previous antihypertensive therapy over each time interval (24-h, morning, night-time and the last 6 h of the dosing interval [2.00 a.m.-8.00 a.m.]) analysed. In addition, more than 90% of patients responded successfully (clinic DBP <90 mmHg or a >10 mmHg reduction in clinic DBP) at the end of telmisartan treatment. In conclusion, telmisartan provides effective blood pressure control throughout the 24-h dosing interval in patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension who were unresponsive to previous antihypertensive medication.