FRIDAY, April 24, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with intracerebral hemorrhage, treatment with a once-daily pill containing three low-dose antihypertensive agents is associated with a lower incidence of recurrent stroke, according to a study published in the April 23 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Craig S. Anderson, M.B., B.S., Ph.D., from the George Institute for Global Health at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, and colleagues conducted a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial involving patients (mean age, 58 years) with a history of intracerebral hemorrhage who had a systolic blood pressure of 130 to 160 mmHg at baseline. After a two-week run-in phase, during which all patients received a once-daily pill containing telmisartan at 20 mg, amlodipine at 2.5 mg, and indapamide at 1.25 mg (the triple pill), patients were randomly assigned to continue receiving the triple pill or matching placebo (833 and 837 participants, respectively).
The researchers found that recurrent stroke had occurred in 4.6 and 7.4 percent of patients in the triple-pill and placebo groups, respectively, at a median follow-up of 2.5 years (hazard ratio, 0.61). During follow-up, the mean systolic blood pressure was 127 and 138 mmHg, respectively. The triple-pill group had a lower incidence of major cardiovascular events compared with the placebo group (6.6 versus 9.8 percent). Serious adverse events occurred in 23.2 and 26.0 percent of patients in the triple-pill and placebo groups, respectively; early discontinuation of the trial regimen due to an adverse event occurred in 13.6 and 6.0 percent, respectively.
"These study results have the potential to mark a real shift in how we manage blood pressure following a stroke," Anderson said in a statement. "This single-pill triple combination helped patients reach target blood pressure levels."