# UT Southwestern: single-pill hypertension therapy cut systolic pressure 19 points in a 1,706-patient trial

- Published: 2026-11-08 21:54 UTC
- Section: Life & Health › Medicine
- Tags: single-pill combination hypertension, polypill blood pressure, CATCH trial, uncontrolled hypertension, stepped care, UT Southwestern study, hypertension Colombia Jamaica, AHA Scientific Sessions 2026
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-2b99160fad88185a4254c749_ut_southwestern_single/

**In a four-year randomized trial in Colombia and Jamaica, a polypill with two or three drugs outperformed stepped care in patients with uncontrolled hypertension at 18 months.**

![UT Southwestern: single-pill hypertension therapy cut systolic pressure 19 points in a 1,706-patient trial](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/6afe5094e439b070.jpg)
*Jacek Halicki, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0*

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center, together with colleagues in Colombia, Jamaica and the U.S., report that a single pill combining antihypertensive drugs lowered blood pressure more than usual multi-pill treatment in patients with uncontrolled hypertension, according to newswise.com. [1] The results were presented in the Late-Breaking Science session of the 2026 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and published in JAMA. [1]

## Trial design

The Caribbean and South American Team-Based Strategy to Control Hypertension (CATCH) was a randomized clinical trial that lasted four years. [1] It enrolled 1,706 patients with uncontrolled hypertension treated at 40 primary care clinics in Colombia and Jamaica. [1]

In half of the clinics, patients received standard care, mainly stepped care: treatment starts with one drug, and physicians raise doses and add drugs over time if blood pressure stays high. [1] In the other half, patients took a polypill combining two or three antihypertensive drugs. [1] These patients were also taught by nurses to measure blood pressure at home with study-supplied equipment, and the nurses reviewed their readings regularly. A health coach trained them on medication adherence. [1]

## Results at 18 months

After 18 months, systolic blood pressure in the single-pill group fell by an average of about 19 points, compared with a 9-point decrease with usual care. [1] Nearly 70% of the single-pill group reached the trial goal of systolic pressure below 130 mm Hg and diastolic pressure below 80 mm Hg; in the standard care group, 29% did. [1]

Six months after the trial ended, 75% of patients in the intervention group were still on single-pill treatment covered by health insurance or government programs, and they maintained better blood pressure control. [1]

The release gives the background: only 22.5% of patients with hypertension in the U.S. have controlled blood pressure, and 13.6% in low- and middle-income countries. [1] Guidelines already recommend single-pill combinations, but earlier trials mostly lasted only a few weeks. [1] According to Jiang He, M.D., Ph.D., who co-led the study, only about 10% of U.S. patients with hypertension receive this therapy. He said larger trials evaluating clinical outcomes are still needed. [1]

## Sources

1. [newswise.com](https://www.newswise.com/articles/single-pill-combination-helps-more-patients-control-hypertension)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-2b99160fad88185a4254c749_ut_southwestern_single/