A Breakthrough Approach To Treating Hypertension

Did you know that nearly 119 million Indian adults suffer from high blood pressure?

Untreated high blood pressure can lead to heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Say Hello To The Quad Pill

A small but clinically significant trial of a quad pill has shown remarkable results.

The quad pill is a new four-in-one-pill with a combination of very low doses of different kinds of medicines used for treating high blood pressure.

In the pilot study carried out by the George Institute for Global Health, the blood pressure of every patient came down to normal levels in just one month.

They evaluated 36 trials on 47,500 patients and tested both single and dual four-in-one treatment methods. The previous trials also demonstrated important advantages of using three or four medicines in combination and revealed little to no side effects of low drug doses.

Study Breaks New Ground

Professor Clara Chow, Director of the Cardiovascular Division in The George Institute, Sydney stated, "The blood pressure of every patient in the clinical trial dropped to a normal level in four weeks".

"Most people take the normal dose of one medicine for high blood pressure, but that controls a patient’s B.P. only half of the times. In this particular clinical trial, the four-in-one capsule controlled the  blood pressure of every patient.”

She further commented, "The results of the clinical trial are encouraging, but larger trials are needed to see whether the success rate with the four-in-one capsule can be repeated and maintained". 

"In the case of long-term treatments, it’s important to minimise the side effects of medicines. Although we didn’t observe any side effects during this trial, further long-term research is required in this area.”

Significant Findings

The key findings of the trial were as follows:

The blood pressure of 100% of the patients who were given the quad pill came down to less than 140/90. 

In contrast, the blood pressure of only 33% patients taking the placebo dropped below 140/90. 

Only one patient out of the total 18 had side effects (like swollen ankles) that are usually associated with anti-hypertensives.

Professor Chow commented, "These results are all the more interesting because the four medicines that were used in the trial for lowering blood pressure are already in use. We’re also finding opportunities for treating a number of common ailments that we couldn’t treat before.”