A single tablet containing a combination of drugs that fight high blood pressure could revolutionize treatment and save thousands of lives every year, according to research.
Experts say patients with the common condition – also known as hypertension – often don’t take all their prescribed daily pills, increasing their risk of life-threatening heart attacks and strokes.
However, new tablets containing several crucial treatments for high blood pressure have been shown to be effective in controlling the condition.
Australian researchers presented their findings last week at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in London.
The treatments they studied contained three or four different medications in one pill. An example of this was telmisartan, amlodipine and indapamide – all of which are used individually to treat hypertension.
Experts say patients with the common condition – also known as hypertension – often fail to take all their prescribed daily pills. (Stock Image)
About 30 percent of adults nationwide suffer from high blood pressure, and in people over 65 the figure is double. (Stock Image)
High blood pressure also increases the risk of kidney disease. It is often caused by poor lifestyle habits, such as poor diet, excessive alcohol consumption and a lack of exercise. (Stock Image)
Studies have shown that this tablet is effective in treating the condition in its early stages. The researchers also found that the triple drug combination was more effective than the standard drug for patients at the start of their treatment and none of them experienced side effects.
About 30 percent of adults nationwide suffer from high blood pressure, and the figure is double among those over 65.
It is often caused by poor lifestyle habits, such as poor diet, excessive alcohol consumption and a lack of exercise.
Symptoms may include headache, blurred vision and chest pain. However, high blood pressure often goes unnoticed until it causes a stroke or heart attack.
High blood pressure also increases the risk of kidney disease.
“We are proposing a completely different concept,” says Dr Anthony Rodgers of the George Institute for Global Health in Sydney, which is developing the new treatment.
‘Convenience and treatment compliance will be an added benefit, but there is more to it.
‘It’s about combining the different mechanisms of three separate drug classes to get a better (outcome) and being able to do this from the start of treatment in patients with mildly elevated blood pressure, but also in patients with higher blood pressure. ‘