First randomised study on the drug treatment optimisation for hypertension in India completed

Centre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC), a non-profit organisation working in the healthcare sector, announced the completion of a study on the drug treatment optimisation for blood pressure in India.
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The Centre for Chronic Disease Control (CCDC), a non-profit organisation working in the healthcare sector, on Tuesday, announced the completion of a study on drug treatment optimisation for blood pressure in India.

The research initiative tested the effectiveness of three double anti-hypertensive pill combinations in South Asian populations with uncontrolled hypertension. Conducted over two years in collaboration with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Imperial College, London, the study demonstrated that all the three combinations were equally effective and safe in regulating blood pressure.

The study evaluated three two-drug combinations — Amlodipine + Perindopril, Amlodipine + Indapamide, and Perindopril + Indapamide — and revealed that all three combinations were similarly effective in achieving blood pressure (BP) control.

South Asians account for 25% of the global population, and India alone is burdened with over 300 million individuals suffering from high BP. This is the first randomised study to test the choice of anti-hypertensive in them.

“These findings will provide clinicians a roadmap for addressing the burden of hypertension,” said the release.

 The key results notes that blood pressure control was achieved in approximately 70% of participants to <140/90 mmHg. This is five times the current BP control rates in India with just a single pill and that all combinations demonstrated an excellent safety profile, with less than 3% of participants withdrawing due to adverse effects, attesting to the tolerability of study drugs.

Dorairaj Prabhakaran, executive director, CCDC, and one of the principal investigators said that the study demonstrates that once a day a single pill combination of two blood pressure lowering drugs can control blood pressure effectively.

“This is in conformity with several international guidelines, eases the management of hypertension, and provides wider choices to doctors. With this evidence, healthcare professionals can be better equipped in recommending any of these three combination therapies in managing hypertension among South Asians,” he said. 

For the study, the participant base spanned 35 clinical sites across all four regions of India and incorporated both rural and urban populations. The participants, aged 30 to 79 years, had a wide range of clinical profiles, making the results applicable to a diverse population.

“The study bridges a critical knowledge gap in hypertension treatment for South Asians. It provides novel evidence to choose any of these three combinations to treat high blood pressure in Indians. It is important to note that the blood pressure control achieved with a single pill a day in 70% of the participants in the study exceeded the current control rates in India by five times. This has important implications for management of hypertension, a major public health burden in India,” Ambuj Roy, Professor, Department of Cardiology, AIIMS, said.