A new treatment that only needs to be given twice a year may offer hope to millions of people struggling to control high blood pressure. According to the results of a clinical trial published in JAMA, a single injection of a new drug called zilebesiran, given every six months, significantly lowered blood pressure in patients whose condition was not well managed by standard medications alone.
The international trial, known as KARDIA-2, included 663 participants with high blood pressure. These patients were already taking common blood pressure-lowering medications, but their blood pressure remained too high.
In the trial, they received zilebesiran as an additional treatment. Compared to those who continued only on their usual medications, patients who received the injection saw a greater and more sustained drop in blood pressure.
This breakthrough could have major implications for public health. High blood pressure affects about 1 in 3 adults in the UK and a similar number in other countries. If left untreated, it raises the risk of heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, and death.
While many medications are available, not all patients stick to daily pills, and blood pressure control remains a serious challenge worldwide.
Dr. Manish Saxena, the UK lead investigator for the study and senior author of the new paper, emphasized the importance of these results: “Hypertension is a global health concern as blood pressure control rates remain poor and is a leading cause of heart attacks and strokes,” he said.
“The novelty of this treatment is its long duration; giving just one injection every six months could help millions of patients to better manage their condition.”
Zilebesiran works differently from traditional medications. It uses RNA interference—a technology that stops the body from producing a specific liver protein called angiotensinogen, which plays a key role in raising blood pressure.
By blocking this protein at the source, zilebesiran helps blood vessels relax and improves long-term blood pressure control. The medication is delivered by a simple injection under the skin.
Importantly, zilebesiran was well tolerated in the trial and showed a good safety profile when used alongside existing blood pressure drugs.
This isn’t the end of the road for the new treatment. The next step is KARDIA-3, a follow-up Phase 2 study that will look at whether zilebesiran can help people with both high blood pressure and existing heart disease or those at high risk of developing it.
Later in 2025, researchers plan to launch a large global outcomes study to test whether the treatment can actually reduce the number of heart attacks, strokes, and cardiovascular-related deaths.
If future studies confirm these benefits, zilebesiran could represent a major shift in how high blood pressure is treated—especially for those who struggle with daily pill routines or have hard-to-control hypertension. With just two injections a year, this innovative approach could make staying on track easier and more effective for millions worldwide.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about unhealthy habits that could increase high blood pressure risk, and eating eggs in a healthy diet may reduce risks of diabetes, high blood pressure.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and results showing 12 foods that lower blood pressure.
The research findings can be found in JAMA.
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