Abstract
The aim of this review was to compare telmisartan and valsartan in the treatment of hypertension. PubMed searches were conducted to identify randomized trials (n = 14) comparing the two agents, alone or combined with hydrochlorothiazide. With one exception, all studies with blood pressure reduction as primary endpoint showed significantly greater reductions with telmisartan than with valsartan. Other studies showed that telmisartan was associated with greater improvements in metabolic measures and inflammatory markers than valsartan. These findings suggest that pharmacologic differences between telmisartan and valsartan may translate into clinically relevant differences between the two drugs in the management of hypertension.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author acknowledges Luc Poirier, B.Pharm., M.Sc., for the assistance during the trials and for the revision of the manuscript. Writing and editorial assistance was provided by Emma Fulkes, Ph.D., of PAREXEL, which was contracted by Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH for these services. The author meets the criteria for authorship as recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and was fully responsible for all content and editorial decisions, and was involved at all stages of manuscript development. The author received no compensation related to the development of the manuscript.
Declaration of interest: The author is a consultant for Novartis Canada and Merck Canada.