PRISMA I & II

Prospective Randomised Investigation of the Safety and efficacy of MICARDIS^® versus ramipril using ABPM

PRISMA I & II demonstrated that MICARDIS^® provides superior blood pressure control to ramipril

Why conduct these studies?

Cardiovascular (CV) and cerebrovascular events are more frequent in the early morning hours. The period of high CV risk overlaps with the morning surge in blood pressure.

This suggests the morning blood pressure surge is a possible new therapeutic target, which might prevent target-organ damage and subsequent CV events in patients with hypertension.

Most antihypertensive agents lose their effects when the morning rise in blood pressure occurs. However, antihypertensive drugs such as MICARDIS^® that have proven 24-hour efficacy not only alleviate hypertension, but, by controlling the early morning surge in blood pressure, could reduce the risk of CV events. The link between the early morning blood pressure surge and CV events needs further confirmation.   Antihypertensive treatment should provide effective 24-hour blood pressure control – particularly during the last 6 hours of the dosing interval.

The aims of the PRISMA I & II studies were to: ^2,3

• Compare the 24-hour blood pressure-lowering effects of MICARDIS^® – the longest acting ARB – against ramipril, thus challenging the ACE inhibitor with proven CV protective effects
• Show that MICARDIS^® provides superior blood pressure control in the last 6 hours of the dosing period, which should offer better protection against the early morning surge in patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension

References