A digital tool that can revitalize high blood pressure

A recent study led by the George World Health Institute in Australia revealed the development of a new electronic instrument, the first of its kind, which can change the way to deal with high blood pressure, one of the most dangerous chronic diseases in the world. The instrument, called “blood pressure treatment computer”, was built on data taken from about 500 random clinical trials that included more than 100,000 patients. The new calculator enables doctors to know the expected effect of any drug or drug composition on reducing systolic blood pressure, accurately based on evidence. According to the researchers, they are classified as ‘low, medium and high -density’ medication, depending on the amount of low blood pressure, which is the same mechanism currently used in the classification of cholesterol lower medications. “Each decrease with 1 mm hole in systolic blood pressure reduces the risk of a heart attack or a stroke of 2, but the problem lies in the large number of available medicines and the multiplicity of their doses, except that most patients need a mixture of more than one medicine to reach the therapeutic purpose, making the therapeutic options a thousand without knowing the new tool. As it gives an interim estimate of the effect of treatment based on hundreds of studies, giving doctors a practical way to choose the optimal plan for each patient according to the amount of reduction in blood pressure. Usually, doctors rely on the measurement of pressure directly to determine the effectiveness of the treatment, but Wang pointed out that this method is inaccurate, because blood pressure is constantly varying from moment to moment and from day to day, and even by the seasons, and adds that “these random fluctuations are equal or even greater than the changes arising from the treatment themselves.” The researchers emphasized that high blood pressure is the most common reason for visiting doctors around the world, and yet there was no comprehensive and modern source that explains the effectiveness of the different medicines, especially when combined or used in different doses. “Using the new calculator, the doctor can determine the amount of the required reduction, and then choose the ideal plan to achieve it based on the evidence, and it is preferable to start at a maximum time instead of following a small dose, and then gradually increase and measure the results, leaving a great space for error and delay.” The research team plans to perform new clinical trials to test the instrument in practice, as medication for the patient is selected based on the amount of reduction in blood pressure, according to the calculator. High blood pressure is known as the ‘silent killer’ because it often does not cause clear symptoms, but it leads to heart attacks, strokes or kidney failure. Blood pressure affects about 1.3 billion people around the world and causes about 10 million deaths annually. According to statistics, less than 20% of patients manage to control their pressure well. “Even minor improvements in control rates will have a tremendous impact, if we can increase the percentage of patients who control blood pressure from less than 20% to only 50%, we can save millions of lives around the world.” The new instrument is not only a technical drug, but rather a shift in the philosophy of the treatment of high blood pressure, from trusting in volatile direct measurements, to the choice of treatment based on wide scientific evidence. If its instrument proves its effectiveness in the coming experiences, it can open the door for a new era of personal treatment for high blood pressure, in a way that reduces the burden of this global disease.