Telmisartan for the Treatment of Systemic Hypertension in Cats
A double-blind, placebo controlled, randomized clinical trial was performed in 221 client-owned cats with indirect systolic arterial blood pressure of 160-200 mm Hg, based on multiple measurements. The trial consisted of a 28-day phase and a 154-day extended-use telmisartan phase. Hypertensive cats were randomly assigned to receive 1.5 mg telmisartan/kg PO q12h for 14 days, followed by 2 mg telmisartan/kg PO q24h, or equivalent volume of placebo. Systolic blood pressure was measured on days 0, 14, and 28. Change in SBP compared to baseline was calculated for days 14 and 28. Telmisartan efficacy was defined as significant decrease in pressure at day 14 compared to placebo and a clinically relevant (>20 mm Hg) decrease at day 28.
The results showed that telmisartan significantly decreased systolic arterial blood pressure to a clinically relevant extent and was well tolerated in hypertensive cats.
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