Trials of baxdrostat have produced ‘exciting’ results for people whose hypertension has proved difficult to control
Doctors are hailing a new pill for patients with high blood pressure resistant to existing medication as a “gamechanger” and a “triumph of science”.
Globally, more than 1.3 billion people have hypertension. In half of them, their high blood pressure is uncontrolled or resistant to existing treatments. They face a much higher risk of heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and early death.
Now a blockbuster new drug – baxdrostat – has been shown in trials to significantly lower blood pressure in those people whose levels remain dangerously high despite taking several medicines.
The results of the BaxHTN study, which involved 796 patients from 214 clinics worldwide, showed that after 12 weeks, patients taking baxdrostat saw their blood pressure fall by about 9-10 mmHg (millimetres of mercury, the unit of measurement of blood pressure) more than placebo – a reduction large enough to cut cardiovascular risk.
