George Institute researchers receive top award at major US heart conference

A team of George Institute researchers has been recognised by the American Heart Association for their work on blood pressure treatment with a low dose triple combination antihypertensive polypill.

The Paul Dudley White International Scholar award, being presented virtually as part of the American Heart Association’s 2020 Annual Scientific Meeting, is for the highest ranked abstract submitted from Australia.

Paul Dudley White was one of the founders of the American Heart Association and a champion for global cardiovascular health strategies.

Lead author and George Institute Research Fellow Dr Sonali Gnanenthiran said that the team was delighted to have received such recognition.

“We’re honoured that our abstract was selected by our peers for this award as part of a world-leading conference,” she said.

The winning abstract, Effects Of Low-dose Triple Combination Therapy On Time At Target Blood Pressure - Results From The TRIUMPH Randomized Controlled Trial, describes how treatment with a triple pill increased the time patients spend with blood pressure at target level compared to people who received usual care.

“These results demonstrate the superiority of the triple pill in achieving ’time at target’ - a new way of assessing longer term blood pressure control. This is the first time it’s been used in a clinical trial, representing a major advancement in our approach to blood pressure assessment compared to using standard one-off measurements,’’ Sonali said.

The George Institute research team collaborating on this project includes Nelson Wang, Abdul Salam, Anushka Patel, Anthony Rodgers as well as other TRIUMPH investigators Ruth Webster and Asita de Silva.