Category: Blood Pressure

Taking blood pressure pills at the right time halves the risk of heart failure, heart attack and stroke.

Blood pressure pills are much more effective if taken at bedtime, an easy behaviour that could greatly reduce the risk of heart disease.

A study has found that, unlike patients who take their medications for high blood pressure in the morning, those who routinely take their pills before going to bed respond better to the treatment.

The researchers followed 9,000 patients for 6 years to see if taking anti-hypertensive medication at night or in the morning has a better effect on cardiovascular disease.

The risk of dying from or having a heart attack, stroke, and heart failure reduced by nearly half in patients who took their medications at bedtime.

These patients had a 66 percent lower risk of death from heart or blood vessel problems as opposed to those who took their medication in the morning.

Taking medications at bedtime also lowered the risk of:

• stroke by 49 percent,
• myocardial infarction, which is a type of heart attack, by 44 percent,
• heart failure by 42 percent,
• and coronary revascularisation by 40 percent.

Professor Ramón C. Hermida, the study’s first author, 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 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.”

The human body’s circadian rhythms or biological clock might have an impact on the absorption of anti-hypertensive drugs since they influence hormone production and digestion.

In this study, those who took their medicine at bedtime had considerably lower blood pressure during the day.

The bedtime treatment lowered their blood pressure even more at night in comparison to patients who were taking their drugs each morning.

Professor Hermida said:

“The findings — indicate that average blood pressure levels while asleep and night-time blood pressure dipping, but not day-time blood pressure or blood pressure measured in the clinic, are jointly the most significant blood pressure-derived markers of cardiovascular risk.”

The study was published in European Heart Journal (Hermida et al., 2019).

The fruit is as effective as taking medication to lower blood pressure.

Eating one cup of blueberries per day lowers systolic blood pressure, research finds.

It could decrease the risk of heart disease by 20 percent.

The fruit is as effective as taking medication to lower blood pressure.

For the study, 40 healthy people were randomised to one of two groups.

One group was given a drink containing 200 grams (7 oz) of blueberries, the other had a control drink without blueberries.

Within two hours of consuming the blueberries, their blood pressure was reduced by 5 mmHg in the group who had been eating blueberries.

The effect was sustained for the whole 40 days of the study.

The researchers found that the beneficial effect is down to anthocyanins, which are antioxidants.

Anthocyanins improve the function of the endothelial cells, which act as a barrier between the blood and the body’s tissue.

The antioxidant is responsible for the pink, red, purple and blue colours of some fruits and vegetables.

Dr Ana Rodriguez-Mateos, the study’s first author, said:

“Although it is best to eat the whole blueberry to get the full benefit, our study finds that the majority of the effects can be explained by anthocyanins.

If the changes we saw in blood vessel function after eating blueberries every day could be sustained for a person’s whole life, it could reduce their risk of developing cardiovascular disease by up to 20%.”

The study was published in The Journals of Gerontology: Series A (Rodriguez-Mateo et al., 2019).

Lower blood pressure linked to one of the most popular drinks in the world.

Coffee is one of the most common drinks around the world yet due to its natural stimulant effect, caffeine has been controversial.

Caffeine can cause a short spike in blood pressure by affecting adenosine production, a compound that relaxes blood vessels.

However, antioxidants in coffee reduce this effect, helping the blood vessels to widen and improve blood flow.

Phenolic compounds in coffee have antioxidant activity that can provide anti-inflammatory benefits and improve insulin sensitivity.

Contrary to what many believe, a study has found that drinking coffee helps maintain low blood pressure.

Participants who consumed two or three cups of coffee every day had notably lower blood pressure than those who did not drink coffee.

The research team observed that moderate coffee consumption was associated with lower peripheral and central (aortic) systolic blood pressure (SBP).

Elevated central aortic pressure is a strong indicator of cardiovascular disease.

Professor Arrigo Cicero, the study’s first author, said:

“The results obtained show that those who regularly drink coffee have significantly lower blood pressure, both on peripheral and central levels, than those who do not drink it.

This is the first study to observe this association in the Italian population, and the data confirm the positive effect of coffee consumption on cardiovascular risk.”

Despite the side effects linked to its powerful stimulant effect, several studies show that people who drink coffee regularly, but in moderation, are less likely to develop diabetes, cardiovascular disease, liver disease, and certain neurodegenerative conditions.

Professor Cicero said:

“Caffeine is only one of the several coffee components and certainly not the only one with an active role.

Positive effects on human health have indeed been recorded even among those who consume decaffeinated coffee.

We know that caffeine can increase blood pressure, but other bioactive components in coffee seem to counterbalance this effect with a positive end result on blood pressure levels.”

To find out the impact of coffee on blood pressure, the study compared central and peripheral BP values in 1,503 Italian adults.

Participants’ coffee drinking habits (the amount and how often) and blood pressure levels were recorded.

Professor Cicero said:

“The results are very clear: peripheral blood pressure was significantly lower in individuals consuming one to three cups of coffee a day than in non-coffee drinkers.

And for the first time, we were also able to confirm these effects with regard to the central aortic pressure, the one close to the heart, where we observe an almost identical phenomenon with entirely similar values for habitual coffee drinkers compared to non-coffee drinkers.”

Their data shows that coffee drinkers had lower values in central aortic pressure, peripheral circulation, SBP, and pulse pressure suggesting the beneficial health effects in lowering cardiovascular disease risk.

The study was published in the journal Nutrients (Cicero et al., 2023).

People do not get enough of this in their diet.

A glass of orange juice a day can help to lower blood pressure, studies find.

Orange juice is rich in potassium, which has a powerful effect in lowering blood pressure.

Bananas, green leafy vegetables, avocados and beans are also high in potassium.

A typical Western diet is low in potassium and high in salt, which is bad for blood pressure.

Salt tastes particularly good to us because our ancestors got little in their diet.

The study involved 300 nurses who were split into five groups and given different combinations of supplements to test their effects.

Along with potassium, the researchers also tested the effect of magnesium and calcium, with blood pressure readings taken over a 24-hour period.

The results showed that potassium had the greatest effect on lowering blood pressure.

Professor Frank M. Sacks, the study’s first author, said:

“Surprisingly, when we put the three together, the effect was no greater than potassium alone.

In fact, it was a little lower.”

The results showed that 1,600 milligrams of potassium was enough to lower blood pressure by a modest amount.

However, people in the study did not have high blood pressure.

For people with high blood pressure, the gains would be more significant, said Professor Sacks:

“Previous studies have shown that potassium in people with high blood pressure has a greater effect of lowering blood pressure 4 to 5 mm Hg.

If he or she already has high blood pressure, then they should eat a diet high in potassium or take supplements.”

The study was published in the journal Hypertension (Sacks al., 1998).

Two simple activities that can lower your blood pressure.

Half-an-hour of brisk walking in the morning can lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and keep you healthy, research finds.

Morning exercise at a moderate-intensity level such as 30 minutes brisk walking or walking on the treadmill can lower blood pressure for eight hours of the day.

By adding frequent breaks from sitting during the day, you will increase the effect of morning exercise on lowering blood pressure, the study found.

Older adults participated in this study, who were overweight or obese.

Average blood pressure — especially systolic blood pressure — was reduced in participants who did half-an-hour’s treadmill walking at moderate-intensity in the morning.

The effect lasted for a period of 8 hours afterwards.

Systolic blood pressure is the top number of the two blood pressure readings and diastolic blood pressure is the second number.

Systolic blood pressure is more important of these two as it is an indicator of cardiovascular disease.

In this study, the benefit of lowering blood pressure lasted throughout the day when the morning walk was combined with three-minute breaks from sitting every half hour.

These three-minute frequent breaks involved casual walking (light-intensity physical activity) during frequent breaks from sitting throughout the day.

Mr Michael Wheeler, the study’s lead author, said:

“For both men and women, the magnitude of reduction in average systolic blood pressure following exercise and breaks in sitting, approached what might be expected from antihypertensive medication in this population to reduce the risk of death from heart disease and stroke.

However, this reduction was greater for women.”

The combination of exercise and breaks from sitting benefited women more than men in regards to lowering blood pressure.

This might be because adrenaline (epinephrine) increased in men but decreased in women.

The other factor is that women were post-menopausal, which is a time when women are at greater chance of cardiovascular disease.

The study was published in the journal Hypertension (Wheeler et al., 2019).

The compounds found in this hot drink may provide new ways of treating high blood pressure.

Both black and green tea contain specific compounds that cause blood vessels to relax and widen, leading to lower blood pressure.

The antihypertensive properties of tea could provide promising treatment candidates for lowering blood pressure, scientists predict.

Tea leaves contain epigallocatechin-3-gallate and epicatechin gallate flavonoids, members of the catechin family.

A study found that these catechins can activate KCNQ5 which in turn causes blood vessels to relax.

KCNQ5 is a potassium channel found in the smooth muscle of blood vessels.

The catechins are antioxidants which have been shown to be effective against cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Professor Geoffrey Abbott, the study’s lead author, explained:

“We found by using computer modeling and mutagenesis studies that specific catechins bind to the foot of the voltage sensor, which is the part of KCNQ5 that allows the channel to open in response to cellular excitation.

This binding allows the channel to open much more easily and earlier in the cellular excitation process.”

Nearly one-in-three of the adult population have high blood pressure which is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease and premature death across the world.

Therefore, finding ways to treat this condition would save lives.

Past studies have suggested that drinking tea can consistently lower blood pressure in small amounts.

Understanding the effect of catechins on KCNQ5 can help with the development of anti-hypertensive drugs with higher efficacy.

Many countries, such as the USA and the UK, drink tea with milk but the antihypertensive benefits of tea may be reduced when it is mixed with milk.

The research team experimented with this idea and found that when milk was added to black tea it blocked the activation of KCNQ5.

However, Professor Abbott thinks that the human body will react differently:

“We don’t believe this means one needs to avoid milk when drinking tea to take advantage of the beneficial properties of tea.

We are confident that the environment in the human stomach will separate the catechins from the proteins and other molecules in milk that would otherwise block catechins’ beneficial effects.”

Moreover, the team has examined the effect of temperature on tea and found that at 35 °C the tea’s composition changes, giving greater effects on KCNQ5 activation.

Professor Abbott explained:

“Regardless of whether tea is consumed iced or hot, this temperature is achieved after tea is drunk, as human body temperature is about 37 degrees Celsius.

Thus, simply by drinking tea we activate its beneficial, antihypertensive properties.”

KCNQ5 is also expressed in the brain, playing a role in the regulation of neuronal function.

Mutations in KCNQ5 gene variants stops its channel working properly, causing brain disorders known as epileptic encephalopathy (seizures).

However, catechins have the ability to pass through the blood-brain barrier and activate KCNQ5.

This discovery might help scientists to develop a treatment for fixing broken KCNQ5 channels and amend brain sensitivity regarding seizure.

The study was published in the journal Cellular Physiology and Biochemistry (Redford et al., 2021).

The probiotics that offer a protective effect, returning blood pressure to normal levels.

Hypertension is a common medical condition and a key risk factor for heart disease affecting nearly half of the global adult population.

Studies show that higher sugar intake, particularly fructose, has resulted in rising prevalence of hypertension globally.

Experts also suggest that some probiotics might influence the gut microbiome in regulating blood pressure.

An animal study found that two probiotics, Bifidobacterium lactis and Lactobacillus rhamnosus, have an antihypertensive effect.

During a 16 week experiment, some mice were fed water mixed with fructose and some also supplemented with Bifidobacterium lactis M8 or Lactobacillus rhamnosus M9 every day.

The probiotic treatment significantly reduced the animals’ blood pressure, returning levels to normal.

The study also suggests that the probiotic efficacy in lowering hypertension is connected to some gut microbes and metabolic pathways.

Dr Jun Li, the study co-author, said:

“Accumulated evidence supports an antihypertensive effect of probiotics and probiotic fermented foods in both in vitro and in vivo experiments.

So we believed that the dietary intake of probiotic foods would well supplement traditional hypertension treatment.”

It seems that excessive sugar intake increases hypertension through different mechanisms, including reduced renal nitric oxide production, insulin resistance, increased salt retention, and gut microbiota alteration.

However, maintaining blood pressure at normal levels in fructose-fed mice suggests that probiotic interventions can improve gut microbial composition.

This study used a method to explore the link between changes in blood pressure and gut microbiota alterations.

The research team noticed that the fructose diet led to a reduction in Firmicutes bacteria and elevated levels of Bacteroidetes.

However, supplementation with either probiotic made the populations of these bacteria return to normal levels.

Moreover, the study identified several bacterial species that affected blood pressure levels.

For example, depleted levels of Alloprevotella and Alistipes and elevated levels of Pyrolobus and Lawsonia species were linked to lower blood pressure.

Dr Zhihong Sun, the study’s co-author, said:

“Probiotics present a promising avenue in preventive medicine.

offering potential in regulating hypertension and reshaping our approach to cardiovascular health.”

Related

• Taking probiotics can increase weight loss over 12 weeks.
• Probiotics have been shown to improve cognition and fight dementia.
• A blend of 14 strains of bacteria reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety.
• 8 lifestyle changes to treat high blood pressure.

The study was published in the journal American Society for Microbiology (Zhang et al., 2023).

The best things to do in order to prevent and treat high blood pressure.

Lifestyle changes should be the first line strategy for preventing and treating high blood pressure, a review suggests.

Good quality sleep, mindfulness, eating dietary fibre, and exercise are among those changes that should be implemented as part of a healthy lifestyle.

While avoiding or reducing exposure to air pollution, smoking, eating salt or sugar, and drinking alcohol are among necessary lifestyle modifications for blood pressure control.

The findings are based on clinical and scientific evidence from 18 countries that looked at effective lifestyle changes for the treatment of hypertension.

Lifestyle interventions

1. Build healthy habits from early life.
2. Eat healthy: more fruits and vegetables, nuts, low-fat dairy, and fish but less red meat, sugar, and salt.
3. Drink healthy: consider beetroot juice, pomegranate juice, cocoa, and hibiscus tea, drink unsweetened coffee and tea moderately, and avoid or reduce alcohol.
4. Physical activity: increase exercises including brisk walking, muscle strengthening and aerobics, avoid sedentary behaviours such as sitting too long.
5. Healthy weight: monitor weight values and waist circumference.
6. Stress reduction: good quality sleep, mindfulness, yoga, breathing techniques, meditation, music therapy, acts of kindness, and gratitude.
7. Reduce exposure to pollution: exercise in parks or gardens and stay away from busy roadways, consider air filtration systems.
8. Avoid passive smoke and stop smoking.

Hypertension is characterized as systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 140 mmHg or higher and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 90 mmHg or more.

The condition affects 1.5 billion people globally.

While there are some effective drugs, due to their side effects it is best to begin with some lifestyle modifications.

Professor , the study’s first author, said:

“Our aim was to provide a holistic set of recommendations for changes to lifestyle, which focus on all areas of health, including movement and bodyweight, food and drink, the body and mind, as well as other factors such as exposure to air pollution.”

Professor Bryan Williams, the study’s senior author, said:

“It all sounds like it is a bit soft and fluffy and not as dynamic, for example, as taking drugs but these things make such an important contribution to reducing the effects of stress on the cardiovascular system and the evidence is accumulating.

There’s so much people can do for themselves.

All of us need to take a step back and say, actually, I should be able to find half an hour in my day to have a little bit of time to myself and decompress and just relax—whether it’s listening to music, going for a walk or going to the gym and doing some exercise.”

Related

• The emotion of gratitude can help to reduce blood pressure.
• Healthy eating, brain training, exercise and good medical management may prevent dementia.
• Lingonberry juice is powerful enough to improve blood vessel function.
• Eating more fruits and vegetables can increase levels of happiness.
• Older adults who have a busy lifestyle also have better cognitive function.

The study was published in the Journal of Hypertension (Fadi et al., 2023).