So-called blister packages reduced people's blood pressure more than the same pills that were loose in a bottle, researchers said Monday.
The study by researchers from Ohio State University and Arizona State University examined 88 hypertension sufferers taking the medication lisinopril, which is manufactured under the brand name Prinivil.
People who used medication provided in blister packs -- foil-covered plastic bubbles through which tablets must be pushed -- were more likely to fill their prescriptions on time, researchers told a Washington meeting of the American Heart Association.
While many find blister packs more irritating than getting a pill out of a bottle, researchers found the exact opposite: Blister-pack pills reduced nearly half of the group's diastolic blood pressure while bottled pills did so for just 20 percent.
The blister packs also included the day each pill was to be taken for the condition that affects an estimated 50 million people in the United States.
© Copyright 2005 by United Press International
