Credit: Getty Now experts from the UK and the US have found a treatment that could significantly lower blood pressure when other medications have failed. Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and colleagues at the US pharmaceutical firm CinCor examined whether patients would benefit from taking a drug called Baxdrostat. The drug works by stopping the body from making aldosterone – a hormone which helps to regulate the amount of salt in the body. Writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, the experts said patients who received the highest dose saw their blood pressure reduce by 20 points. The NHS says that high blood pressure can weaken the arteries in the brain - making them more likely to split or rupture. In most cases, people who have high blood pressure can lower it through lifestyle changes such as healthy eating and exercise - but others may be prescribed medication such as beta blockers. However, some patients suffer with 'treatment resistant' high blood pressure. This is defined as a blood pressure reading that remains above the goal despite concurrent use of medication. A study published in 2019 by experts at the University of Alabama found that patients with this type of illness were more likely to experience clinical outcomes of death, myocardial infarction, heart failure, stroke, or chronic kidney disease (CKD) compared with treated hypertensive patients with controlled blood pressure. The new research from experts in the UK and US looked specifically at patients who suffered with treatment resistant high blood pressure. They looked at 248 patients who were either given a placebo drug, or Baxdrostat for a 12 week period. Those taking smaller){kind=link}
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High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, is one of the main causes of a stroke.
Now experts from the UK and the US have found a treatment that could significantly lower blood pressure when other medications have failed.
Researchers from Queen Mary University of London and colleagues at the US pharmaceutical firm CinCor examined whether patients would benefit from taking a drug called Baxdrostat.
The drug works by stopping the body from making aldosterone – a hormone which helps to regulate the amount of salt in the body.