According to new research, timing blood pressure medication with a patient’s body clock makes the drugs more effective, providing more effective and greater protection. By taking the medication at night patients are better protected against heart attacks and strokes. Chronobiology International has published the results of a five-year study in their journal. If the findings by researchers are followed, the way blood pressure medication is administered could change and have a profound impact on the type of treatment that hypertension patients receive. The results have the potential to change the way millions of people with hypertension treat their illness.
"This study proves that the time of day when patients take their high blood pressure medications can make a huge difference due to the effect of the body's circadian rhythms on the actions of medications and because of the importance of preserving the normal day-night pattern of blood pressure in hypertension," said Dr. Ramon C. Hermida, lead investigator of the MAPEC study and director of Bioengineering and Chronobiology Labs at the University of Vigo in Spain. "Conventional treatment typically advises taking blood pressure medications in the morning. The MAPEC study shows that conventional treatment is not the most effective way to help patients with high blood pressure," said Hermida.
Taking at least one blood pressure medication at bedtime as opposed to taking all medications in the morning was found, based on around-the-clock ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, to best normalize the sleep-time blood pressure. This is known to be the most sensitive predictor of a patient's five-year risk of cardiovascular death mortality. Additionally, the study shows that taking medication at night is the best way to control daytime blood pressure levels.
Source: All Headline News
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