When it comes to reducing blood pressure, for some patients three medications in one pill might be better. New research shows that patients who took a pill combining low doses of medications reached their blood pressure targets faster and in greater numbers than those getting standard care.

Seventy percent of people who took the “triple pill” reached their blood pressure target right away and maintained it for six months. Just 55 percent of those who used standard care hit their blood pressure target, and it took six months to do so. The findings, by Australian researchers, were reported by the American College of Cardiology.

About 700 patients in Sri Lanka with an average blood pressure indicating stage 2 hypertension were studied. Researchers wanted to know whether initial doses of a trio of drugs could produce better results than usual care. They also wanted to find out if combining the drugs made the treatment easier for doctors and more convenient for patients.

One group of patients received low doses of three drugs — telmisartan (TEL-mi-SAR-tan), amlodipine (am-lodi-pine) and chlorthalidone (klōr-thal-ə-dōn). Other patients were given usual care, their doctor’s choice of a single blood pressure medication.

The medications in the triple pill all work in different ways to drop blood pressure by relaxing the blood vessels, meaning the heart does not have to work as hard.

Six weeks after starting treatment, the triple-pill patients had a 53 percent reduction in the risk for high blood pressure.

Researchers said the triple-pill approach is a way to improve on conventional hypertension treatments, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where such initial treatment strategies are uncommon.