New clinical concepts after the ONTARGET trial

Abstract

Some aspects of the Ongoing Telmisartan Alone and in Combination with Ramipril Global Endpoint Trial (ONTARGET) study are briefly commented on in this article. The three main topics of interest related to the study that require further analysis are the following: the influence of blood pressure control, and in particular, the target blood pressure for patients with established cardiovascular disease such as those admitted in the ONTARGET study, the renal aspects of the study, which are of great interest but do not adequately clarify, in particular, concerns over the dual blockade of the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) with telmisartan and ramipril, and finally, and probably most importantly, the role of statins in the outcome of the study. A high percentage of patients receiving this type of therapy at the end of the study, which probably contributed to obtaining a residual risk similar to that in the Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation (HOPE) study in the absence of treatment with RAAS blockers in approximately two-thirds of patients included in the ONTARGET trial.

Keywords::

• albuminuria
• dual blockade of the RAAS system
• eGFR
• established cardiovascular disease
• high cardiovascular risk
• ramipril
• renal function
• renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system
• residual risk
• statins
• telmisartan

Financial & competing interests disclosure

The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.

No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.