Lowering blood pressure to below standard can actually help save lives and stop more heart attacks, scientists have confirmed on Monday.
In September of this year an official-led group of experts caused an uproar from experts in heart disease by halting the ongoing research on blood pressure treatment and announced that patients who took more medication to make lower blood pressure were healthier and suffered less heart “events” like strokes and heart attacks.
They didn’t have all the information yet. They’ve now released the details at a meeting held by the American Heart Association. They’ve also confirmed the information.
For patients with blood pressures who are 50 or older, aiming to a reading of 120 millimeters mercury (mm Hg) can reduce the likelihood of heart attack, stroke , and the heart to death by about 25. People whose blood pressure was lowered to this level had a 27-percent lower risk of dying in the course of three years than those who had blood pressures that were below the current goal of 140.
“This can be a game changer for some, but not for all.”
Three quarters of U.S. adults have high blood pressure. This means that millions of people may be affected by these results.
The findings shocked the researchers and prompted the end of the study to allow them to examine the data.
“When the advantages of the more aggressive intervention became evident in SPRINT and SPRINT 2, we committed to speedy public health communications and peer-reviewed publishing of results of the study,” said Dr. Gary Gibbons, director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) which was the sponsor of the study.
The results were in line as the team explained at the group.
“Regardless of whether patients suffered from any cardiovascular diseases or did not renal disease, or did not have it, they were either white or black either female or male, and above or below 75, all appeared to be benefited in a similar way,” Dr. Jackson Wright Jr. is the blood pressure specialist in University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University, said to NBC News.
At present, people are being advised to lower their blood pressure down to 140 or less. This is the most important number to look for in the blood pressure measurement called the systolic blood-pressure.
On average, it took three different drugs to bring the blood pressure of a patient down to 120 – typically a diuretic is the primary choice to reduce blood pressure. It also includes the drug known as an inhibitor of calcium channels and another one that is known as an ACE inhibitor. There are a variety of options within these categories of medications. Each one is lowering blood pressure via an entirely different method.
Professor. Donald Lloyd-Jones of Northwestern University in Chicago Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones, who wasn’t part of the study He was thrilled by the news. “This could be a game changer for many, but not necessarily for all,” he told NBC News. He added that he’ll be intensifying efforts to bring blood pressure levels lower for his patients who are healthy and over 50.
Certain negative side-effects were more frequent as blood pressure decreased. These include blood pressure drops and fainting, as well as abnormalities in electrolytes-related compounds, and acute kidney damage.
However, the study found that people did not have a higher risk to fall, or have low heart rates, and people who suffer from kidney disease did not notice their condition getting worse.
“The advantages of higher-intensity blood pressure control far outweighed the risk of harm regardless of race, gender, or ethnicity,” said Dr. Paul Whelton of Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine who was the lead researcher in the study.
However, they’re continuing to follow up to determine if the rate of dementia or other forms of cognitive impairment are different for people with low blood pressure. A few studies have revealed that individuals have difficulty thinking when they are taking excessive blood pressure medications.
The Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Steve Nissen said he was not convinced at the moment. He said that more research is needed, and forecasts lots discussion “discussion”.
“I always worry about the rush to judgement or an over-exuberance can lead to an over-treatment of individuals,” Nissen told NBC News.
“We don’t want to treat too much and we don’t wish to dismiss these results but we need to be able to comprehend these results more thoroughly before we modify our practice across the country.”
“We do not want to treat patients too lightly and we don’t wish to dismiss these results however, we need to comprehend these results more thoroughly before we modify our practice across the nation.”
Questions that must be addressed: Do you think it is okay to raise your blood pressure up to say 130? What happens between 140 and 120? Do you think it is worth taking additional medication to make your blood pressure down?
“It’s important to keep in mind that healthy lifestyle choices can be beneficial in the management of high blood pressure” the NHLBI’s Dr. Lawrence Fine.
The American Heart Association and the American Medical Association announced a collaboration Monday that will pay the attention of blood pressure.
“There is a significant amount of evidence to show how high blood pressure is a major contributing cause of a variety of major diseases, such as heart attack or stroke, heart failure, kidney failure , and many other health results,” the Heart Association stated.
A new target might be even more difficult to reach than the blood pressure goal.
“Currently only half of Americans who suffer from high blood pressure are getting the suggested blood pressure reading of less than 140/90 mmHg,” said Heart Association president Dr. Mark Creager, director of the Heart and Vascular Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
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