Double dose to beat high blood pressure

GIVING patients with high blood pressure two drugs instead of one leads to faster improvements and fewer side-effects, Scottish research has found.

The study, published in The Lancet, discovered that a combination of medicines given right at the start of treatment worked better than just one drug at cutting blood pressure, which is linked to a higher risk of heart disease and stroke.

The researchers now believe that doctors should change their clinical practice to improve treatment for patients.

The study involved researchers at Cambridge University working with teams in Glasgow and Dundee and the British Hypertension Society.

Doctors usually start treatment for high blood pressure with one drug and add others over a period of months.

But the new research found that it was best to start treatment with two medicines at the same time, which resulted in faster and better control of blood pressure and, surprisingly, fewer side-effects than using just one drug.

Professor Morris Brown, of Cambridge University and Addenbrooke's Hospital, said the study "breaks the mould for treating hypertension".

"Most patients can now be prescribed a single combination pill and know that they are optimally protected from strokes and heart attacks," he said.

Almost 10 million people in the UK currently have high blood pressure. Effective treatment is known to substantially reduce the risk of stroke and heart disease.

The researchers said their findings could change clinical practice and affect the treatment of blood pressure for millions of people.

Professor Tom MacDonald from Dundee University said: "The research is a great result for patients with high blood pressure. Starting with two medicines is clearly better than starting with one, and amazingly there were fewer side-effects and not more."

Gordon McInnes, professor of clinical pharmacology at Glasgow University, added: "The results of this trial are of huge importance to doctors and people treated for high blood pressure.

"Future treatment will be more effective and, since fewer side-effects will lead to better acceptance of therapy, many fewer heart attacks and strokes are likely."

The study involved 1,250 people with hypertension, who were split into groups to receive either a single drug or a combination of two treatments. At the end of the 32-week study, 62 per cent of patients on the combination treatment had hit their blood pressure target, compared with 53 per cent on one treatment alone.