Clinical efficacy and safety of telmisartan versus losartan and their effect on lipid profile in stage 1 hypertension: A randomized, double blind, 12 week trial

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of telmisartan and losartan and also to examine their effect on lipid profile in patients of stage 1 hypertension.Method: Sixty three stage 1 hypertensive patients were divided randomly into telmisartan and losartan group of 32 and 31 patients respectively. At baseline and 12 weeks, systolic (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), blood sugar level (BSL), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low density lipoprotein (LDL), very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) were measured. Result: The primary finding of the present study was that telmisartan and losartan significantly decreased SBP and DBP at 12 weeks compared to baseline but there was no significant difference in reduction of blood pressure in between both groups. It was also observed that fasting blood sugar level, serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, VLDL, and LDL decreased significantly and HDL increased significantly (p <0.001) after 12 weeks of treatment in telmisartan group only. No serious adverse effects were reported during the study. Conclusion: It was observed that only telmisartan and not losartan significantly improved lipid profile at 12 weeks.