Maintaining goal blood pressures after switching from olmesartan to other angiotensin receptor blockers.

This study assessed blood pressure (BP) goal maintenance in patients controlled with olmesartan monotherapy after switching to another angiotensin type II receptor blocker (ARB). Hypertensive patients prescribed olmesartan monotherapy were identified from GE Healthcare's Centricity electronic medical record between 2007 and 2011. After documentation of BP goal (<140/90 mm Hg) attainment, patients were placed into the continuation cohort if olmesartan monotherapy was maintained or into the switch cohort if they were changed to irbesartan, losartan, or valsartan. Follow-up assessments were the first BP measurement 28 to 390 days after attaining BP goal (continuation cohort) or after prescribing an alternative ARB (switch cohort). Of 3412 patients included (3027 continuation cohort, 385 switch cohort), 52% were women and mean age was 58.0 years. In the switch cohort, 310 (80.5%) were switched to losartan (n=236), irbesartan (n=58), or valsartan (n=16) monotherapy and 75 (19.5%) were switched to combination antihypertensive therapy. Mean baseline and follow-up BP were 122.5/75.8 mm Hg and 126.6/77.6 mm Hg, respectively, in the continuation cohort (P<.001) and 123.5/75.4 mm Hg and 129.6/78.5 mm Hg, respectively, in the switch cohort (P<.001). BP goal maintenance was 78.7% and 72.2% in the continuation and switch cohort, respectively (odds ratio, 0.707; 95% confidence interval, 0.555-0.899). Patients who continued on olmesartan monotherapy after attaining BP goal had a higher percentage of BP goal maintenance than patients who switched therapy. ©2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.