Nifedipine and telmisartan for the treatment of hypertension: the TALENT study

A combination of two drugs as initial treatment in patients with a high or very high cardiovascular risk profile is recommended. Nifedipine extended release (GITS) is a calcium-channel antagonist known to be metabolically neutral, to mildly slow the development of atherosclerosis in hypertensive subjects and to significantly decrease cardiovascular risk in diabetic patients. Telmisartan is highly selective for the angiotensin receptor 1, it gives a greater improvement in glycemic and lipid control compared with irbesartan, and it proved its superiority in improving insulin sensitivity compared with eprosartan. The TALENT study was aimed to determine whether combining low-dose nifedipine GITS at and telmisartan reduced ambulatory and clinic blood pressure more than the two components in monotherapy in hypertensive patients at high cardiovascular risk. The study shows that combination treatment with nifedipine GITS and telmisartan provides a greater and earlier blood pressure reduction than the combination components in monotherapy.