Patients who took their blood pressure reducing medication just before bedtime had nearly half the risk of dying or suffering heart attacks, myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure compared to patients who took their medication in the morning, said researchers. The study included 9,084 patients taking their pills either in the morning or at bedtime. The time considered was an average of more than six years.

(People Also Like To Read: Ayushman Bharat- A Step Towards Your Medical Care)

It was found, the medication that is taken just before the sack time at night, the risk of death from heart or blood vessel problems was reduced by 66 percent, the risk of myocardial infarction by 44 percent, coronary revascularisation by 40 percent, heart failure by 42 percent, and stroke by nearly 50 percent.

The co-author of the study Ramon C. Hermida said, “The results of this study show that 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.”

He said the existing guidelines on the treatment of hypertension do not mention or recommend any preferred time and that physicians mostly recommend morning ingestion based on the misleading goal of reducing morning blood pressure levels.

Whereas, the average systolic blood pressure when a person is asleep is the most significant and independent indication of cardiovascular disease risk, regardless of blood pressure measurements taken while awake or when visiting a doctor, he added.

Also, there are no such studies showing that treating hypertension in the morning improves the reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Researches are being conducted where there is a total of 292 doctors trained in ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, 10614 men and 8470 women (aged 18 or over, who had been diagnosed with hypertension by means of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring) will be wearing a special cuff that records blood pressure at regular intervals throughout the day and night.

The recruited participants had to adhere to a routine of daytime activity and night-time sleep. The researches have advised that the study findings may not apply to people working night shifts.

The two most significant markers of cardiovascular risk- the average blood pressure levels while asleep, and the dipping night-time blood pressure but not day-time blood pressure measured in the clinic.

Hermida said round-the-clock blood pressure monitoring should be the recommended way to diagnose true hypertension in the arteries and to assess the risk of cardiovascular disease.

He added, “Decreasing the average systolic blood pressure while asleep, and increasing the sleep-time relative decline in blood pressure towards more normal dipper blood pressure patterns are both significantly protective, thus constituting a joint novel therapeutic target for reducing cardiovascular risk.”

Note: Heart disorders can be dangerous and life-threatening. Do consult the best cardiologist near me to treat cardiovascular issues.

(You Might Also Like To Read: Punjab Becomes Leading State in Immunisation)