The reduction in blood pressure from standard can actually save lives and avoid heart attacks from happening, research proved Monday.
In September of this year an official-led group of experts caused an uproar from experts in heart disease after they halted an ongoing study on blood pressure treatment and announced that patients who took more medication to make lower blood pressure were living longer and experiencing 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. The details are clear.
For patients with blood pressures who are 50 or older, aiming for a reading of around 120 millimeters (mm Hg) reduces the risk of stroke, heart attack and failing heart by around 25. The blood pressure of those who was reduced to this low had a 27-percent lower risk of dying during the course of the three-year study than those who had blood pressures that were below the current 140 mm Hg target.
“This could be a game changer for some, but not for all.”
Three quarters of U.S. adults have high blood pressure, so many people might be affected due to these research findings.
The findings surprised the researchers and led to the end of the study to allow them to examine the data.
“When the advantages of the more aggressive intervention became evident in SPRINT the study, we committed to swift public health education and peer-reviewed publication of results of the study,” said Dr. Gary Gibbons, director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) who sponsored 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 or female and above or below 75, all appeared to be benefited in a similar way,” Dr. Jackson Wright Jr. who is the blood pressure specialist within University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University, said to NBC News.
At present, people are advised to bring their blood pressure down to 140 or less. This is the highest number on the blood pressure measurement also known as the systolic blood pressure.
On average, it took three medications to bring the blood pressure of a patient down to 120 usually a diuretic, which is the primary choice to reduce blood pressure. It also includes the drug known as calcium channel blocker, and another known as an ACE inhibitor. There are a variety of options within these categories of medications. Each reduces blood pressure through an entirely different method.
The Dr. Donald Lloyd-Jones of Northwestern University in Chicago who was not involved in the research was pleased with the findings. “This will be a game-changer to many, but not necessarily for all,” he told NBC News. He added that he’ll be intensifying efforts to help lowering blood pressure for his patients who are healthy and over 50.
Certain negative side-effects were more frequent when blood pressure decreased. They can include low blood pressure 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 experience harmfully slow heart rates. Likewise, patients who suffer from kidney disease did not suffer from a worsening of their condition.
“The advantages of greater intensity blood pressure reduction far outweighed the potential harms regardless of race or gender,” said Dr. Paul Whelton of Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine who was a part of the team that 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 could be different in people with low blood pressure. Certain studies have shown that people are unable to think if they are taking excessive doses of blood pressure medications.
The Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Steve Nissen said he was not convinced at the moment. Dr. Nissen said that more analysis is required, and he predicted that there will be a lot 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 do not want to over-treat and we don’t want to overlook these results, but we need to be able to comprehend the results better prior to deciding whether or not to alter our practices across the nation.”
“We do not want to over-treat the patient, and we do not wish to dismiss these results however, we need to comprehend these results more thoroughly before we modify our practice across the nation.”
Need to be addressed: Do you think it is okay to raise your blood pressure up to say 130? When will the benefits kick in 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 lifestyle changes to be healthy can have a positive impact on 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 that suggests how high blood pressure is a major contributing cause of a variety of major health issues, including heart attack and stroke, heart failure, kidney failure , and many other health results,” the Heart Association declared.
A new target might be more difficult to achieve than the blood pressure goal.
“Currently only half of Americans who suffer from high blood pressure are getting the blood pressure goal that is less than 140/90 mm Hg,” said Heart Association president Dr. Mark Creager, director of the Heart and Vascular Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
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