Patients Miss Out on Heart Benefits of BP-Lowering Meds
A new study presented at the ESC Congress 2026 reveals that patients who fail to take their blood pressure medication as prescribed experience significantly fewer cardiovascular health benefits. The research highlights a decline in medication adherence over time, even within controlled clinical trials.
Why it matters
Improving patient adherence to medication is critical for reducing the global burden of cardiovascular disease and hypertension-related deaths.
Munich, Germany - 27 August 2026: The true impact of missing doses of blood pressure-lowering medication will be demonstrated in a presentation at ESC Congress 2026. 1
Approximately 1.4 billion adults worldwide aged 30 - 79 years are estimated to have high blood pressure (hypertension), 2 one of the most significant risk factors for disease burden. 3 Despite the proven benefits of blood pressure-lowering medication in reducing cardiovascular events, around half of patients do not take them as prescribed. 4
"We have evidence that poor adherence to antihypertensive medication is associated with worse outcomes, 5 " explained presenter, Miss Qianqian Yang from the University of Oxford, UK. "However, previous data has come from observational studies and could be confounded by other factors. We undertook an analysis of randomised trial data to assess the true impact of adherence on the benefits of antihypertensive treatment."
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