Effectiveness of using long-acting angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker in Japanese obese patients with metabolic syndrome on morning hypertension monitoring by using telemedicine system (FUJIYAMA Study)

AIM: Recently, obesity patients have been diagnosed as metabolic syndrome. The aim of this study was to evaluate which angiotensin type 1 receptor blockers (ARBs), telmisartan or candesartan, is superior for the control of home blood pressure (BP) in the morning when the outpatient clinic BP was well controlled in the patients with metabolic syndrome. METHODS: The patients with metabolic syndrome were enrolled. Home BP was monitored by using a telemedicine system. After a 2- to 4-week control period to establish baseline home BP values, these patients were randomly divided into telmisartan (20-80 mg) and candesartan (4-12 mg) groups. These end points were evaluated by using the telemedicine system during steady-state active therapy. A total of 356 patients attending 60 outpatient Japanese centers were recruited. RESULTS: On a day of active therapy, telmisartan significantly lowered both systolic and diastolic home BP in the morning to a greater extent compared to candesartan. At the end of the study, reductions in systolic and diastolic home BP in the morning, in telmisartan group were significantly larger compared to the changes in the candesartan group (systolic; Tel: 12.0 ± 8.9 versus Can: 8.1 ± 17.1 mmHg, p = 0.0292, diastolic; Tel: 7.4 ± 6.1 versus Can: 3.7 ± 6.8 mmHg, p = 0.0053). Additionally in the telmisartan treated group, LDL-cholesterol showed significant reduction (p = 0.037), but candesartan did not. CONCLUSION: The present study by using the telemedicine system clearly demonstrated that telmisartan has a strong effect on reducing morning home BP, and a good effect on lipid metabolism in patients with metabolic syndrome.