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Cure for high blood pressure?

By Chukwuma Muanya, Assistant Editor
13 February 2017   |   6:52 am
Combining four blood pressure drugs into a single pill could be twice as effective as existing treatments, researchers have found.

*Every patient given treatment during trial saw their hypertension drop to healthy levels

Combining four blood pressure drugs into a single pill could be twice as effective as existing treatments, researchers have found.

In a breakthrough trial, every patient given the four-in-one ‘quadpill’ saw their blood pressure drop to healthy levels within a month.

And because each drug is included in much lower doses than in conventional tablets, experts believe the combined medication will minimise side-effects.

The results of the small pilot trial, published in the Lancet medical journal last night, could offer a new approach for the hundreds of thousands in the United Kingdom (U.K.) who take daily tablets for their blood pressure.

High blood pressure – or hypertension – affects more than 17million Britons, or one adult in three.

The condition vastly increases the risk of heart attacks, strokes and vascular dementia but, because it has no symptoms often until it is too late, only half of people even know they are at risk.

Of those who have been diagnosed, hundreds of thousands take daily pills to control their blood pressure. But they normally take just one drug – and only about half of patients see their blood pressure fall to a healthy level.

The new study saw a 100 per cent success rate. However, the researchers from the George Institute at Sydney University stressed that only 18 patients took part in the trial. Further research is needed to see if the results can be repeated, they said, but these initial findings are very exciting.

Study author Professor Clara Chow told DailyMailUK: “Most people receive one medicine at a normal dose but that only controls blood pressure about half the time. In this small trial blood pressure control was achieved for everyone. Trials will now test whether this can be repeated and maintained long-term.”

The study involved giving patients a single capsule containing a quarter-dose of each of four common blood pressure drugs – irbesartan, amlodipine, hydrochlorothiazide and atenolol.

Researchers believe reducing the dose of each drug minimises the risk of side-effects, which can include swollen ankles and kidney abnormalities.

Even though the dose of each drug was lower, combining them increased their impact.

Chow said: “Minimising side-effects is important for long-term treatments – we didn’t see any issues in this trial, as you would hope with very low-dose therapy, but this is the area where more long-term research is most needed.

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2 Comments

  • Author’s gravatar

    I was reading this article thinking it’s about Nigeria, I got put off when I noticed that the story is all about another country, what a shame! Can you not write about issues in your country? Do you ever think an average European would even think about Nigeria when writing anything except it’s a negative issues? Pls think inward inward and stop this dependence,

    • Author’s gravatar

      This is a health research finding that is being shared which is globally relevant. Such treatment if confirmed can benefit sufferers of high blood pressure all over the world including Nigeria. We can also save a lot in healthcare cost as well as improve quality of life.