Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, symptoms may be relieved with a common treatment for hypertension, according to recent research from Emory University. The disorder affects approximately 7.7 million adults in the U.S.

There are currently two FDA-approved medications,  serotonin uptake prohibitors, to treat the disorder in the U.S. Although the medications are widely available, many individuals with PTSD continue to experience symptoms, leading to a demand for new medications to help treat the disorder.

The possible new treatment for PTSD is a renin-angiotensin system, or a collection of related hormones that act in tandem to regulate an individual’s blood pressure. Angiotensis converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) were drugs initially used to target the renin-angiotensin system nearly two decades ago. Both drugs have long interested psychiatry experts.

Dr. Paul Marvar, first author and assistant professor at George Washington University, said in a statement, “Our current preclinical results show that the ARB losartan, given acutely or chronically to mice, enhances the extinction of fear memory, a process that is disrupted in individuals with PTSD. Overall these data provide further support that this class of medications may have beneficial effects on fear memory in PTSD patients.”

The National Institute of Mental Health describes the disorder as a changed or damaged “fight or flight” response, a healthy reaction meant to protect someone from harm. The source notes that the disorder develops after a terrifying ordeal that involved physical harm or the threat of physical harm.