3-in-1 blood pressure pill more effective than standard care

A new 3-in-1 blood pressure pill outperformed standard medication at lowering blood pressure in patients with uncontrolled hypertension. It is estimated that over a billion people worldwide live with hypertension which is a leading risk factor for mortality, accounting for 10.8 million deaths a year.

The GMRx2 pill contains low doses of three blood pressure drugs―telmisartan, amlodipine and indapamide―and is taken once daily. The standard treatment for hypertension involves starting off with one medication, and if it’s not effective, adding on two or more drugs as needed.

A recent study randomly assigned 300 adults, average age 52 years, with uncontrolled blood pressure to either the triple pill or standard treatment. After just one month, 81 per cent of the participants in the GMRx2 group had their blood pressure under control versus 55 per cent with standard care. This improvement continued at six months with 82 per cent achieving control, compared with 72 per cent on standard treatment.

Systolic blood pressure was 31mmHg lower in the GMRx2 group after six months, compared to 26 mmHg lower with standard care, a 5.8 mmHg difference. Every 5-mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure is associated with a 10 per cent reduction in major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack and heart failure. Both treatment plans were well tolerated.

"In low-income countries, fewer than one in four treated people achieve blood pressure control and in high-income settings it is only between 50 per cent and 70 per cent," the lead researcher said. "So, to see rates of over 80 per cent in just one month is impressive."

Results of the experimental trial were presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.