Study Design
- TALENT was a 16-week multicenter, prospective, randomized, double-blind trial that included 327 high CV risk patients from 40 centers in Italy and Spain
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It compared the effect of two general treatment strategies on 24h blood pressure: initiating therapy with the combination of nifedipine GITS 20 mg/telmisartan 80 mg versus initiating therapy with one drug and then adding the second
- The first 8-week period consisted of three treatment arms:
- - Nifedipine GITS 20 mg/telmisartan 80 mg combination (n=164)
- - Telmisartan 80 mg monotherapy (n=74)
- - Nifedipine GITS 20 mg monotherapy (n=89)
- Starting from 8 weeks, all patients received nifedipine GITS 20 mg/telmisartan 80 mg combination
- The first 8-week period consisted of three treatment arms:
- In the optional 8-week extension period, all patients continued to receive GITS 20 mg/telmisartan 80 mg combination, with an open-label up-titration of nifedipine GITS to 30 mg or addition of medication (e.g. a diuretic) for patients whose SBP was ≥120 mmHg and whose physicians recommended it
Figure 1. TALENT study design
Patients
- Patients were age 18-75 years of age with untreated or poorly controlled hypertension (office SBP >135 mmHg) following a stable antihypertensive regimen for ≥4 weeks
- Participants also had to have an additional CV risk factor: type 2 diabetes, target-organ damage or metabolic syndrome, defined as the presence of at least two of the following:
- a. Impaired glucose tolerance (fasting plasma glucose 110-125 mg/dL)
- b. Raised serum triglycerides (≥150 mg/dL)
- c. Low HDL cholesterol (men: <40 mg/dL, women: <50 mg/dL)
- d. Waist circumference of >102 cm (men) or >88 cm (women)
