Telmisartan and amlodipine tablets are indicated for the treatment of hypertension, alone or with other antihypertensive agents to lower blood pressure. 

Lowering blood pressure reduces the risk of fatal and nonfatal cardiovascular events, primarily strokes and myocardial infarctions. These benefits have been seen in controlled trials of antihypertensive drugs from a wide variety of pharmacologic classes including angiotensin II receptor blockers and dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers. There are no controlled trials demonstrating risk reduction with telmisartan and amlodipine tablets. 

Control of high blood pressure should be part of comprehensive cardiovascular risk management, including, as appropriate, lipid control, diabetes management, antithrombotic therapy, smoking cessation, exercise, and limited sodium intake. Many patients will require more than one drug to achieve blood pressure goals. For specific advice on goals and management, see published guidelines, such as those of the National High Blood Pressure Education Program’s Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC). 

Numerous antihypertensive drugs, from a variety of pharmacologic classes and with different mechanisms of action, have been shown in randomized controlled trials to reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, and it can be concluded that it is blood pressure reduction, and not some other pharmacologic property of the drugs, that is largely responsible for those benefits. The largest and most consistent cardiovascular outcome benefit has been a reduction in the risk of stroke, but reductions in myocardial infarction and cardiovascular mortality also have been seen regularly. 

Elevated systolic or diastolic pressure causes increased cardiovascular risk, and the absolute risk increase per mmHg is greater at higher blood pressures, so that even modest reductions of severe hypertension can provide substantial benefit. Relative risk reduction from blood pressure reduction is similar across populations with varying absolute risk, so the absolute benefit is greater in patients who are at higher risk independent of their hypertension (for example, patients with diabetes or hyperlipidemia), and such patients would be expected to benefit from more aggressive treatment to a lower blood pressure goal. 

Some antihypertensive drugs have smaller blood pressure effects (as monotherapy) in black patients, and many antihypertensive drugs have additional approved indications and effects (e.g., on angina, heart failure, or diabetic kidney disease). These considerations may guide selection of therapy.

Telmisartan and amlodipine tablets may also be used as initial therapy in patients who are likely to need multiple drugs to achieve their blood pressure goals. 

Base the choice of telmisartan and amlodipine tablets as initial therapy for hypertension on an assessment of potential benefits and risks including whether the patient is likely to tolerate the starting dose of telmisartan and amlodipine tablets. 

Patients with moderate or severe hypertension are at relatively high risk for cardiovascular events (such as strokes, heart attacks, and heart failure), kidney failure, and vision problems, so prompt treatment is clinically relevant. Consider the patient’s baseline blood pressure, the target goal, and the incremental likelihood of achieving goal with a combination compared with monotherapy when deciding whether to use telmisartan and amlodipine tablets as initial therapy. Individual blood pressure goals may vary based upon the patient’s risk. 

Data from an 8-week, placebo-controlled, multidose, factorial trial provide estimates of the probability of reaching a blood pressure goal with telmisartan and amlodipine tablets compared to telmisartan or amlodipine monotherapy and placebo [see Clinical Studies (14.1)]. 

The figures below provide estimates of the likelihood of achieving systolic and diastolic blood pressure control with telmisartan and amlodipine 80/10 mg tablets, based upon baseline systolic or diastolic blood pressure. The curve of each treatment group was estimated by logistic regression modeling. The estimated likelihood at the right tail of each curve is less reliable due to small numbers of subjects with high baseline blood pressures.

The figures above provide an approximation of the likelihood of reaching a targeted blood pressure goal at 8 weeks. For example, a patient with a baseline blood pressure of 160/110 mmHg has about a 16% likelihood of achieving a goal of <140 mmHg (systolic) and 16% likelihood of achieving <90 mmHg (diastolic) on placebo. The likelihood of achieving these same goals on telmisartan is about 46% (systolic) and 26% (diastolic). The likelihood of achieving these same goals on amlodipine is about 69% (systolic) and 22% (diastolic). These likelihoods rise to 79% for systolic and 55% for diastolic with telmisartan and amlodipine tablets.