Date of last update: December 2009

Telmisartan^▼ licence change
Since these NPCi materials were published, telmisartan^▼ has been licensed for cardiovascular prevention (see Summary of Product Characteristics for details). To accompany this licence change, telmisartan^▼ has become a black triangle drug intensively monitored by the MHRA and CHM. This licence extension does not change any of the messages in these materials.

In this room you will find a series of workshops using a multimedia presentation of PowerPoint slides with audio commentary by the NPC team. You will need speakers and a sound card in your computer.

The outline of each short presentation is given below. Simply click on one of the underlined links and then click on the play icon to begin. You can jump forwards to skip a slide or backwards to repeat a slide by clicking the relevant slide on the left hand side of the console.

Summary - Why do we use RAS drugs? (12mins 55secs)

Part 1 - Background (7mins 52secs)

Part 2 - Evidence-based practice (1): ACE inhibitors first-line (38mins 27secs) - Updated: June 2010

Part 3 - Evidence-based practice (2): A2RAs an alternative if ACE inhibitor discontinued for intractable ACE inhibitor induced cough (12mins 17secs)

Part 4 - Therapeutic dilemmas (1): what about combination therapy? (14mins 02secs)

Part 5 - Therapeutic dilemmas (2): (9mins 58secs)

- What are the recommendations for RAS drugs in pregnancy/breastfeeding?
- Is there an increased risk of MI with A2RAs?
- What is the place in therapy of the new direct renin inhibitor, aliskiren?

Part 6 - How are we doing with prescribing? How can we improve? (11mins 41secs)

ACE-inhibitors and angiotensin-2 receptor antagonists (A2RA) drugs are used in a number of indications.  In addition to the workshops above, there are <60 minute elearning events on other relevant floors of NPCi which you can access by clicking the links below:

• Hypertension
• Heart failure
• Post-MI
• Stroke
• Type 2 diabetes

They are also used in chronic kidney disease, for which there is NICE guidance (see especially section 1.8).