Patients with hypertension who started therapy with a single pill composed of 4 low-dose medications achieved greater blood pressure control than those who initiated with monotherapy in a phase 3 trial.
The multicenter trial included 591 patients in Australia with an average age of 59 years who were untreated or receiving monotherapy for hypertension. Their average baseline blood pressure was 141/85 mm Hg. Participants were randomly assigned to either the polypill—containing 37.5 mg of irbesartan, 1.25 mg of amlodipine, 0.625 mg of indapamide, and 2.5 mg of bisoprolol—or to monotherapy with 150 mg irbesartan. Patients in both groups who did not achieve blood pressure targets could receive additional medication, starting with 5 mg of amlodipine.