In a nutshell
This study looked at patients on triple therapy for blood pressure control. It found that taking fewer separate pills was associated with better blood pressure control.
Some background
Blood pressure (BP) can be difficult to manage in some patients. There are three main types of treatment that act on the body in different ways. Sometimes these treatments are combined into a triple-therapy regime in patients with hard-to-control hypertension (high BP).
Triple therapy can be taken in the form of 3 separate pills, or sometimes different drugs are combined into one tablet. This means that patients who are on the same amount of treatment can end up taking 1,2 or 3 separate pills depending on whether combination pills are used. It is known that patients who have to take more pills are less likely to stick to their medication regime. However, it is not clear how much of an impact this has on BP control.
Methods & findings
520 patients with hypertension were included in this study. All patients were on triple therapy for blood pressure control which had not been changed for at least 3 months. Triple therapy was given to patients in the form of 1,2 or 3 pills. 22.2% of patients were taking a single combination pill with 3 drugs.
36.3% were taking an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor (ACEI) in their combination treatment. 63.7% were taking an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) in their triple combination treatment. None of the ARB-treated patients were taking a single pill combination. 24 hour BP measurements were taken from all patients.
Overall 47.3% of patients had good BP control on 24 hour monitoring. 66.7% of the patients taking a single combination pill had good BP control. 46.5% of those taking 2 combination pills had good BP control and 29.3% of those taking 3 separate pills had good BP control.
Patients taking an ACEI combination were more likely to have good BP control compared to those taking ARB combinations.
The bottom line
This study showed that when the same amount of treatment was combined into one pill, this resulted in much better blood pressure control than taking 2 or 3 separate pills. This is likely due to patients struggling to take or remember multiple pills.
The fine print
This study was based on medical records. Information might have been incomplete. Further studies are needed.
What’s next?
If you have trouble taking all your pills, consider talking to your physician about the role of combination pills.
Published By :
Advances in therapy
Date :
Jun 11, 2021
