Patients with high blood pressure urged to take pills at night to cut death risk

High Blood Pressure: A recent research published by the European heart journal on Tuesday, 22nd October 2019 has revealed that hypertension treatment at night before bed time, improves cardiovascular risk reduction.

It is a simple tip that could help save lives, the journal said.

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The research is the biggest study of its kind to investigate the idea that the timing of drugs affects health outcomes.

According to a British Broadcasting Cooperation health editor, Michelle Roberts, the new study has said that,”the pills offer more protection against heart attacks and strokes when taken at bedtime rather than in the morning.”

The study with high blood pressure pills was proven, when an experiment was carried out on 19,084 patients on medication for high blood pressure, who were tracked for an average of six years by Spanish scientists.

Half of the volunteers were asked to take their entire dose of drugs at bedtime, while the others took theirs in the morning.  

Results showed people who took them in the evening had a 44 per cent lower risk of a heart attack and 66 per cent lower risk of dying from heart disease. 

They also were half as likely to suffer a stroke, according to the research team from the University of Vigo, on the west coast of Spain.

The scientists cannot yet explain why taking the mediation before bed has such a profound effect.

But they know that a high blood pressure level while a person is asleep is often a bigger indicator of heart disease risk.  

Up until now, doctors have been advising patients to take the drugs in the morning as soon as they wake up.

They believed reducing morning blood pressure levels was critical for preventing a cardiovascular event. But there is no proof to back this up.

All of the 19,084 patients had their blood pressure monitored over a period of 48 hours at least once a year.

By the end of the study, 1,752 patients died from cardiovascular disease, had a heart attack, suffered heart failure or stroke, or needed their arteries unblocked.

As well as a lower risk of stroke, heart attack and dying from heart disease, patients who took their pills before bed had a 42 per cent lower risk of heart failure.  

The findings remained true even when factors likely to influence the results were taken into account, such as cholesterol levels.

Author Professor Ramon Hermida said, ‘Current guidelines on the treatment of hypertension do not mention or recommend any preferred treatment time.

‘Morning ingestion has been the most common recommendation by physicians based on the misleading goal of reducing morning blood pressure levels.

‘The results of this study show patients who routinely take their anti-hypertensive medication at bedtime, as opposed to when they wake up, have better-controlled blood pressure and, most importantly, a significantly decreased risk of death or illness from heart and blood vessel problems.’ 

A senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, Vanessa Smith, said: ‘Although this study supports previous findings in this area, further research amongst other ethnic groups and people who work shift patterns would be needed, to truly prove if taking blood pressure medication at night is more beneficial for cardiovascular health.

‘If you’re currently taking blood pressure medication, it’s important to check with your GP or pharmacist before changing the time you take it. 

‘There may be specific reasons why your doctor has prescribed medication in the morning or night.’

(BBC/Mailonline/BriminghamLive)