High blood pressure, often called the “silent killer,” is one of the most common health problems in the world.
It happens when the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries is too high, which makes the heart work harder than it should. Most people with high blood pressure have to take medicine every day to keep it under control.
But here’s the problem — more than half of them forget to take their pills regularly. When blood pressure is not controlled, it can cause serious problems like stroke, heart attack, kidney damage, and even early death.
Because of these risks, scientists have been searching for better and easier ways to treat this condition. Now, a new drug called zilebesiran could change how we treat high blood pressure in the future. Instead of taking pills every day, patients might be able to get just one injection every six months and still keep their blood pressure at a healthy level.
Researchers from several institutions, including the University of Edinburgh, recently tested zilebesiran in the UK. The results were exciting. People who got the injection had a big drop in their systolic blood pressure, which measures the pressure when the heart pumps blood.
Those who received doses of 200 milligrams or more saw an average drop of over 10 mmHg, while people who received an 800 milligram dose saw their blood pressure fall by more than 20 mmHg. These changes could mean the difference between dangerous and safe blood pressure levels.
So, how does zilebesiran work? It was developed by a U.S. company called Alnylam. The drug works by blocking a hormone called angiotensin, which makes blood vessels tighten and raises blood pressure.
Zilebesiran stops the liver from making a protein called angiotensinogen, which is the starting point for producing angiotensin. It does this by switching off the gene that creates the protein, so the hormone can’t be made. With less of this hormone in the body, the blood vessels can stay more relaxed, and blood pressure goes down.
In the trial, 107 people with high blood pressure took part. Eighty of them got a single injection of zilebesiran, and the rest got a placebo, which is a treatment with no active medicine.
The researchers will now do more studies to make sure the drug is safe and to understand how well it works over the long term. They also want to see if it works for people of different ages, health conditions, and backgrounds.
Professor David Webb from the University of Edinburgh called the results a possible big step forward.
He pointed out that there hasn’t been a new type of drug for high blood pressure in 17 years, and this one could help more people stick with their treatment plans. If the upcoming studies confirm its safety and effectiveness, zilebesiran could become a new and convenient option for people worldwide.
For now, the best ways to manage high blood pressure are still the basics — take your medicine as prescribed, eat a healthy diet, keep a healthy weight, be active, and avoid smoking. But in the near future, this single-shot treatment could give millions of people an easier way to protect their hearts and live longer, healthier lives.
The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and the researchers believe that with more testing, zilebesiran could one day be part of standard care. If successful, it could make managing high blood pressure much simpler for patients and doctors alike.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about the ideal blood pressure for older people and common high blood pressure drugs may cause memory problems.
For more information about blood pressure, please read studies about the arm squeeze test: could your blood pressure reading be wrong and bedtime medication more effective for high blood pressure.
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