Key points from article :
A major UK study has provided the first clear evidence that ethnicity influences how people respond to hypertension treatment. The AIM-HY INFORM trial, led by researchers at King’s College London and presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Madrid, investigated whether a person’s ethnic background and blood chemistry could predict the most effective drug therapy for high blood pressure. Hypertension, often symptomless, affects one in three adults worldwide and is a leading driver of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, dementia, and premature death.
The trial recruited 829 participants from Black, South Asian, and White ethnic groups across the UK. Each individual was treated with several different blood pressure medications, both as single agents and in combination, so researchers could directly compare how the same person responded to different therapies. Results showed clear differences in drug effectiveness between groups, confirming that ethnicity is an important factor in treatment decisions.
One striking finding was that Black participants had lower plasma renin levels, which helps explain why certain drugs work less effectively in this group compared to others. These biological insights highlight that the differences in response are not just social or environmental, but rooted in measurable physiological variation.
By demonstrating that a one-size-fits-all approach does not work equally well across populations, the trial underscores the promise of personalised medicine in hypertension care. Tailoring drug choice to ethnicity could improve outcomes for millions of patients in the UK—particularly the more than seven million people of Black and South Asian heritage, at least two million of whom require treatment. The findings could also deliver cost savings to healthcare systems by ensuring patients are prescribed the right treatment first time.
