For those suffering from uncontrolled hypertension, here comes good news. New research on Saturday showed that a single pill with low doses of three anti-hypertensive drugs, once a day, significantly lowered blood pressure than other standard care methods.
It is estimated that
over a billion adults live with hypertension worldwide, with two-thirds living
in low- and middle-income countries.
The treatment based on
novel combination of low doses of three anti-hypertensive drugs in a single
pill - known as 'GMRx2' - was found to be superior to a high-quality standard
care treatment plan at lowering blood pressure in patients, according to the
study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).
The 'GMRx2' treatment
plan involved a once daily pill containing telmisartan, amlodipine and
indapamide at a quarter, half or standard doses.
The standard care
treatment plan was recommended by the Nigerian Ministry of Health began with
monotherapy, followed by dual and triple combination therapy, and was typical
of hypertension guidelines for many countries.
Results of the trial was
led by The George Institute for Global Health and presented at the 'European
Society of Cardiology Congress 2024'.
After six-month
treatment, home systolic blood pressure was 31 mm Hg lower in the 'GMRx2' group
compared to 26 mm Hg lower with standard care. The 5.8 mm Hg difference was
highly clinically and statistically significant.
Existing evidence shows
that with every 5 mm Hg reduction in systolic blood pressure there is a 10 per
cent reduction in major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack and
heart failure, the study noted.
After just one month, 81
per cent of participants in the 'GMRx2' group achieved clinic-measured blood
pressure control versus 55 per cent with standard care.
"The triple pill
still produced clinically meaningful reductions in blood pressure compared to
standard care, even when standard care closely followed current guidelines and
involved more clinic visits," said Professor Dike Ojji, head of the
cardiovascular research unit at the University of Abuja, Nigeria.
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