Boehringer Ingelheim discusses HighCare2008 Project

Boehringer Ingelheim has discussed data from an ambulatory blood pressure study.

Called the HighCare2008 Project, it was the first examination of its kind and looked at the effects of telmisartan at high and very high altitudes.

Principle investigator Professor Gianfranco Parati explained due to a lack of oxygen in the blood, people with sleep apnea syndrome develop high blood pressure.

During the study, scientists simulated the condition by hypobaric hypoxia, which can occur when at peak altitudes.

Professor Parati noted how the antihypertensive drug they tested affected the medical problem.

“We found that telmisartan ? was able to control this effect at altitudes of up to 3,500m, at which the lack of oxygen is similar to the degree of hypoxemia most commonly experienced by sleep apnea sufferers,” he stated.

The results of the project were presented at the 19th Scientific Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension, which was held in Milan, Italy.

Earlier this month, Boehringer Ingelheim announced its investigational combination of telmisartan and amlodipine was well tolerated and could control blood pressure for 24 hours in hypertensive patients who were at risk of cardiovascular events.