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Testing different drugs against high blood pressure can be crucial to get the maximum and best effect. This is shown by a study from Uppsala University, writes Dagens Medicin.
In the study, published in the journal Jama, Swedish researchers state that the most optimal drug on average lowers blood pressure more than if a random drug was inserted.
– If you find the right drug, you could get a better effect than if you double the dose of a poorly functioning drug, says Johan Sundström, professor of epidemiology at Uppsala University and first author of the study, to the newspaper.
In the study, four common blood pressure medications were tested. After establishing that person-specific medication can be decisive to get the best effect, the researchers will now study the material more closely to see if there were patients where the difference was not so great.
– At present, we can only say how big the average potential was, says Johan Sundström.
Facts
About the study
The four drugs included in the study are candesartan, lisinopril, amlodipine and hydrochlorothiazide.
280 patients were randomly assigned to test blood pressure medication for a total of one year. Each participant had to try two of the drugs twice and two of the drugs once.
All participants had a mild form of high blood pressure and a relatively low risk of cardiovascular disease.
Each treatment period lasted two months. The participants were blinded to which treatment they received and at the beginning of each period a week of placebo treatment was included to “wash out” the effect of the current treatment.
According to the results, the most optimal drug on average lowers the systolic blood pressure by 4.4 mmHg more than if a random drug was inserted.
Source: Dagens Medicin
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