(HealthDay News) — For Black African adults with uncontrolled hypertension, a low-dose triple-pill protocol achieves better blood pressure lowering and control than standard care, according to a study published online Aug. 31 in the Journal of the American Medical Association to coincide with the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2024, held from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 in London.

Dike B. Ojji, PhD, from the University of Abuja in Nigeria, and colleagues compared the effectiveness and safety of a novel low-dose triple-pill protocol with a standard-care protocol for lowering blood pressure in a trial conducted in public hospital-based family medicine clinics in Nigeria. Black African adults with uncontrolled hypertension who were untreated or receiving a single blood pressure-lowering drug were randomly assigned to low-dose triple-pill or standard-care protocols. The triple-pill protocol involved a novel combination of telmisartan, amlodipine, and indapamide in triple one-quarter, one-half, and standard doses; the standard-care protocol started with amlodipine.

The researchers found that at month 6, mean home systolic blood pressure was on average 31 and 26 mm Hg lower in the triple-pill and standard-care protocols, respectively. At month 6, in the triple-pill and standard-care protocols, clinical blood pressure control was 82 and 72%, respectively, and home blood pressure control was 62 versus 28%, respectively. None of the participants discontinued treatment due to adverse events.

“The results demonstrate that the World Health Organization goal to achieve greater than 80% blood pressure control in those treated for hypertension is possible in low-income settings,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed ties to industry.

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