A novel pill that blocks the hormone aldosterone shows promise for lowering blood pressure and potentially delaying the progression of kidney disease in people with both conditions. 

The preliminary findings were presented Saturday at an American Heart Association (AHA) meeting in Baltimore and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Urgent: Undo Decades of Damage to Your Heart! Read Here

The Phase 2 clinical trial, known as FigHTN, found that the new medication, baxdrostat, yielded a roughly 5% reduction in systolic blood pressure when given to patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who were unable to control their high blood pressure with existing medications. 

Systolic blood pressure is the top number in a blood pressure reading. It measures pressure against your artery walls as the heart beats, according to the AHA.

"These findings are encouraging for people living with chronic kidney disease and high blood pressure, two conditions that often go hand-in-hand and create a dangerous cycle,” said study leader Dr. Jamie Dwyer, a professor of medicine at University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City.

Unmanaged blood pressure can worsen kidney function, and declining kidney function can, in turn, further elevate blood pressure, creating a challenging loop for patients, he explained.

Reported previously in HealthDay News, the new drug also showed benefit in other patients with treatment-resistant high blood pressure when taken once a day for three months.

In an additional analysis, researchers investigated the drug’s potential impact on kidney function directly. 

Participants taking baxdrostat had a 55% reduction in the amount of albumin lost in their urine compared to those on a placebo. 

High levels of albumin in urine are considered a predictor of heart and kidney disease.

This discovery gives researchers hope for a longer-term benefit, according to Dwyer. 

"The reduction in urine albumin gives us hope that baxdrostat may also help delay kidney damage," he said. He added that this potential is now being further evaluated in two large-scale Phase 3 trials.

The FigHTN study included 195 participants with an average age of 66 who were already on existing blood pressure medication but still had a high average systolic blood pressure of 151 mm Hg. 

The participants also had a level of chronic kidney disease, but were not in kidney failure. For 26 weeks, they were given either a low-dose or high-dose of baxdrostat or a placebo in addition to their standard care. 

The most common side effect was elevated potassium levels in the blood, which occurred in 41% of those on the drug compared to just 5% in the placebo group, although most cases were mild to moderate, researchers noted.

Dr. Jordana Cohen is deputy director and associate professor of medicine and epidemiology at UPenn’s Perelman School of Medicine and immediate past chair of the AHA’s Hypertension and Kidney Cardiovascular Science Committee. 

After reviewing the findings, she noted their importance for patients with kidney disease. 

"It is particularly reassuring to know that patients with chronic kidney disease, who have very high rates of hypertension and elevated renin-angiotensin aldosterone activity, were represented in their own study, tolerated the medication well, and had both blood pressure and albuminuric benefits," she said in an AHA news release.

"This medication class could be a game changer in the management of hypertension in this patient group,” Cohen said.

The study was funded by AstraZeneca, developer of baxdrostat.