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Revolutionary new ‘3-in-1’ blood pressure pill could cut world’s 10 million yearly deaths
A revolutionary new blood pressure pill is being trialled which could dramatically transform the lives of people living with hypertension.
GMRx2 is a ‘3-in-1’ drug which combines doses of three common high blood pressure medicines into a single pill for the first time ever.
Revolutionary new ‘3 in 1’ blood pressure pill
The single tablet is a triple combination of telmisartan, amlodipine and indapamide, three “best-in-class treatments” for high blood pressure, the drug’s development company George Medicines reveals. Different doses of each drug are being trialled, including quarter, half and standard doses.
It’s been in the works for years, but a successful new study has marked another considerable step towards the pill being rolled out across the world.
The study in Nigeria, led by The George Institute for Global Health, gave the tablet to 300 Black African patients with uncontrolled hypertension (high blood pressure) for six months. They were all either receiving no treatment at all or taking a single blood pressurelowering drug.
It found that treatment with the low-dose triple pill “significantly reduced” blood pressure by 5.8 mm Hg and concluded that the new GMRx2 pill “achieved better blood pressure lowering” than standard hypertention treatments.
This is an extremely positive result, showing that the ‘3-in-1’ pill could be more successful than any other tablet currently prescribed to lower blood pressure.
Cutting world’s 10 million blood pressure deaths
As revealed by the World Heart Federation, hypertension affects one billion people worldwide and kills an estimated 10 million people globally every year – and the new pill could help to cut these high blood pressure deaths.
It’s the number one risk factor for death worldwide and can lead to serious problems like heart attacks or strokes. Heart disease is the leading cause of death globally and high blood pressure accounts for around half of all heart disease and stroke-related deaths.
Hypertension is often referred to as the ‘silent killer’ because it doesn’t show any symptoms and remains hidden until it’s too late. It can increase the risk of developing many brain and kidney diseases when left undiagnosed and untreated.
A blood pressure that is equal to or greater than 140 over 90 mm Hg is too high and puts you as risk of all these conditions. High blood pressure can be caused by lifestyle factors such as a bad diet, being overweight, smoking, drinking too much alcohol and stress.
However, sometimes, the cause cannot be prevented such as your age or ethnicity. Older people are more likely to have a high blood pressure, as are those Black African, Black Caribbean or South Asian ethnic background.
For these people in particular, the new blood pressure pill could be life-changing.
