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A recent study found that sleeping less than 7 hours a night is linked, over time, to an increased risk of high blood pressure. The results are being presented at the Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology; they have not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. The study’s authors accepted that no scientific proof links sleep patterns to hypertension or elevated blood pressure. They did, however, note that prior evidence of the connection has been erratic.

Data from sixteen studies conducted between January 2000 and May 2023 were examined by the researchers. The data included incidences of hypertension over follow-up periods ranging from 2 to 18 years (with a median of 5 years) in 1,044,035 individuals in six countries who did not have a history of high blood pressure. The researchers found that even after controlling for demographic and cardiovascular risk factors such as smoking, blood pressure, body mass, education, gender, and age, those who slept for shorter durations of time had a notably higher chance of developing hypertension. For individuals who slept for less than five hours, the correlation was even more pronounced.

According to the most recent data, the likelihood of developing high blood pressure in the future increases with less sleep that is, fewer than seven hours per day. Longer sleep times were associated with a higher incidence of high blood pressure, although this association was not statistically significant. According to sleep specialists, obtaining seven to eight hours of sleep per night may also be the best for your heart.

Less than seven hours of sleep was linked to a 7% higher risk of high blood pressure, according to the research team. The percentage rose to 11% when the amount of sleep was less than five hours. According to Hosseini, the team made a comparison between that and the effects of smoking and diabetes, both of which are known to raise a person’s risk of hypertension by at least 20%. Hosseini stated that although the researchers did not look into specific causes, disturbed sleep might be the cause. He said that additional variables might include alcohol consumption, night shift work, depression, anxiety, certain medication use, overeating, sleep apnea, and other lifestyle choices.

The age range of the study participants was 35–61 years old. The majority, or 61%, were women. Women who reported sleeping for less than seven hours were seven percent more likely to develop high blood pressure. Given that sleep patterns typically change as people age, the researchers were surprised that they were unable to find age-based differences in the association between sleep duration and hypertension. According to Hosseini, getting too little sleep seems to be more dangerous for women. Although we are unsure if the difference is clinically significant, it is statistically significant and merits more research. We do know that poor sleep hygiene may raise the risk of hypertension, which is known to pave the way for heart disease and stroke.

The study’s limitations, according to the team, include the fact that changes in sleep duration during the follow-up period were not evaluated because the data was self-reported. The definitions of short sleep duration (less than five or six hours) varied amongst the studies as well. According to Hosseini, more investigation is necessary to assess the relationship between prolonged sleep and elevated blood pressure through the use of more precise techniques like polysomnography, which is a means of assessing sleep quality. Additionally, the differences in reference sleep duration highlight the necessity of a standardized definition in sleep research to improve the generalizability and comparability of results across various studies.

More research is required to ascertain the reason behind women’s higher risk, according to Dr. Cheng-Han Chen, who was not involved in the study, speculated that women may have a higher stress response to sleep disruption because inadequate sleep is thought to raise stress hormones that can raise blood pressure. Susan Miller is the lead researcher and certified sleep expert, a website devoted to assisting users in achieving better sleep. Miller, who was not involved in the study, told Medical News Today that hormonal factors, especially fluctuations in estrogen levels, may be to blame for women’s higher risk. These factors may have different effects on cardiovascular health and sleep patterns.

According to her, women are more likely than men to experience sleep disturbances during menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause due to hormonal changes. Women’s sleep patterns are influenced by a variety of factors, including work-related stress and caregiving responsibilities, in addition to social and environmental factors. Each of these raises the chance of developing hypertension. Chen noted that as more studies examine the consequences of poor sleep, the significance of sleep for general health is becoming more evident. He added, though, that there is still a lot we don’t know about the processes by which getting too little sleep affects our health. Maintaining a cool, dark, and quiet bedroom; abstaining from caffeine and alcohol; sleeping at roughly the same time every day; engaging in regular daytime exercise; and avoiding afternoon naps are some healthy sleep practices.

Dr. Rigved Tadwalkar, that getting enough sleep enables the body to recuperate and mend itself. According to Tadwalkar, who was not involved in the study, It also regulates hormones that influence blood pressure, inflammation, and blood sugar levels, all of which are critically important for heart health. He offered several recommendations on how people could get better sleep. Tadwalkar suggested keeping a regular sleep schedule. Observe a consistent sleep schedule to ensure a more restful night. Reliability is essential. Maintaining a regular sleep schedule that includes weekends as well as bedtimes helps to balance your internal clock and improves the quality of your sleep. He also advised avoiding the urge to oversleep by more than an hour past your usual waking time if necessary because doing so helps to maintain the stability of your sleep patterns.

Establishing a calming nighttime routine is crucial, according to Tadwalkar. Examine your pre-bedtime routines. He advised against engaging in stimulating activities like screen time right before bed. Rather, adopt soothing routines like reading a book or doing relaxation exercises to let your body know when it’s time to shut down. Optimizing your sleeping environment is also beneficial, according to Tadwalkar. To improve the sleeping environment, he suggested keeping the room cold, dark, and quiet. He also suggested adjusting the temperature and eliminating as much light and noise as you could to create the perfect atmosphere for a restful night’s sleep. Furthermore, Tadwalkar advised speaking with a healthcare provider for a more thorough assessment and tailored guidance if problems continue.

They can help determine the best course of action for treating sleep issues and help uncover any underlying causes. In particular, Tadwalkar advised consulting a physician who specializes in treating sleep disorders, or sleep medicine. Physicians who specialize in sleep medicine are qualified to perform specialized testing, create customized treatment programs, and offer advice on long-term sleep health.

REFERENCES:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/getting-too-little-sleep-linked-to-high-blood-pressure
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/high-blood-pressure/expert-answers/sleep-deprivation/faq-20057959

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The presence of high blood pressure alone may increase the chance of developing a number of chronic health issues. Long-term medication use is common in the management of high blood pressure, and this may come with certain health risks. Three drugs that are frequently used to treat high blood pressure were found to have a similar link with cardiovascular mortality in a recent study. Additionally, the findings suggested that angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors might raise the risk of stroke. Many aspects of health can be enhanced by managing high blood pressure over the long term. People can occasionally manage their blood pressure without taking medicine. On the other hand, a number of over-the-counter drugs can help with long-term care. In a recent study, people taking one of three popular blood pressure medications were examined for mortality as well as a number of other health outcomes (JAMA Network). Regardless of the type of medication, the researchers found that the mortality risk from cardiovascular disease was similar among the over 32,000 high blood pressure participants in their analysis. Subsequent data analysis, however, revealed that using ACE inhibitors as opposed to diuretics increased the risk of both fatal and nonfatal stroke by 11%. The findings suggest that more investigation is required to ascertain the possible risk of drugs such as ACE inhibitors.

Blood pressure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is the force of blood pressing against your artery walls. Your body’s arteries transport blood from your heart to different areas. Excessive blood pressure can lead to a number of complications, including heart attack, stroke, heart failure, and vision loss. People can alter their lifestyles to control high blood pressure by exercising frequently, consuming less alcohol, and consuming less sodium. To help maintain blood pressure in a healthy range, many high blood pressure sufferers take medication. Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, and thiazide-type diuretics are the three main drug classes used to control blood pressure. All of these drugs can help lower blood pressure, even though their modes of action vary slightly. The purpose of this study was to examine some long-term effects of using specific high blood pressure medications. The design of the study allowed researchers to follow up with participants in a passive manner for up to 23 years. A preplanned secondary analysis of the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) was conducted in this study. Of these participants, data from 32,804 could be included by researchers.

The participants had high blood pressure, were 55 years of age or older, and had one or more additional coronary heart disease risk factors. Researchers examined a number of participant outcomes, including: Mortality from cardiovascular disease overall; Mortality from cardiovascular disease combined with nonfatal outcomes; Morbidity and mortality from coronary heart disease, stroke, cancer, end-stage renal disease, and heart failure. The original trial in question was a double-blind clinical trial in which participants were randomly assigned to receive one of three initial medications for high blood pressure: amlodipine, an ACE inhibitor (lisinopril), or chlorthalidone, a thiazide-type diuretic. Participants in the initial trial were also given doxazosin, an α-blocker, but this portion of the trial was terminated early. The three different medication types that were looked at in the study were described in detail to Medical News Today by Dr. Cheng-Han Chen, a board-certified interventional cardiologist and medical director of the Structural Heart Program at MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center in Laguna Hills, California. Dr. Cheng-Han Chen was not involved in the study. The three different drug classes that were examined in the documentation each have a unique method of efficiently lowering high blood pressure. A diuretic of the thiazide type works by making your body excrete salt and water, which lowers the fluid volume in blood vessels and the systemic pressure that follows. By lowering the amount of calcium that enters the blood vessel walls, a calcium-channel blocker helps to relax the blood vessel walls.

Through data from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Social Security Administration, and National Death Index databases, researchers were able to conduct a secondary analysis that extended beyond the first trial period. Jose-Miguel Yamal, Ph., is the study’s author. D. UTHealth Houston School of Public Health associate professor of biostatistics and data science, stated to MNT: We aimed to ascertain whether there was a difference in the long-term risk of mortality and morbidity outcomes for older adults with hypertension who were starting with one of three widely used antihypertensive treatments: an ACE inhibitor, a calcium channel blocker, or a thiazide-type diuretic. Participants in a seminal clinical trial that compared these treatments were tracked for approximately five years. Much longer than what was possible by contacting participants one-on-one, we took that group of patients and linked their data with some other administrative datasets, such as Medicare, to be able to determine whether they ended up having other outcomes up to 23 years after they started the trial, he continued. The study’s findings showed that each medicine had a comparable death risk from cardiovascular disease. Regarding the other secondary outcomes, the groups’ results were likewise comparable. The primary distinction was that the ACE inhibitor was linked to an 11% higher risk of both fatal and nonfatal strokes that required hospitalization. This was in contrast to the diuretic of the thiazide type.

The higher risk was no longer significant, the researchers observed, once multiple comparisons were taken into consideration. They thus think that people should proceed with caution when interpreting the results. Many of the findings from the first ALLHAT study, which influenced clinical guidelines, are supported by this study. Diuretics and calcium channel blockers have been demonstrated to have superior blood pressure control and lower the risk of stroke compared to ACE inhibitors when stroke risk is a significant factor. This effect lasted well past the trial period. To validate these findings with long-term blood pressure medication use, more research is necessary. A board-certified cardiologist at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, Dr. Rigved Tadwalkar, who was not involved in the study, said the research provided insightful information about the long-term consequences of antihypertensive drugs. The absence of significant differences in the mortality from cardiovascular disease among patients treated with these three classes of medications over an extended follow-up period of up to 23 years is the most noteworthy observation. This implies that the long-term efficacy of these antihypertensive classes is comparatively comparable when looking at mortality.

There are certain limitations to this research. Firstly, it fails to prove a cause-and-effect connection between the variables. After all was revealed, bias might have occurred, and it’s probable that participants stopped taking their medications after learning the truth. Additionally, the researchers lacked information regarding the use of blood pressure medications after trials from 2002 to 2006. None of the analyses were found to be statistically significant after multiple comparisons were taken into account. Some trial participants—like those from Canada—were not contacted by the researchers after the initial trial. Additionally, they were unable to obtain long-term morbidity follow-up from Veterans Affairs clients and non-Medicare participants. This might have restricted the research and reduced the generalizability of the findings. Additionally, blood pressure readings and laboratory data were not provided to the researchers following the conclusion of the initial trial.

The next most noteworthy finding about MNT, according to Dr. Tadwalkar, is that patients taking ACE inhibitors had an 11% higher chance of experiencing a combined fatal and nonfatal hospitalized stroke when compared to those taking diuretics. However, given the possible influence of unmeasured confounding variables and the fact that posttrial data on the use of antihypertensive medications were unavailable for the study for a number of years (2002 to 2006), this finding should be interpreted cautiously. He said that the absence of information could have led to crossover or regression to comparable drugs, which could have affected the results that were seen. When all is said and done, the results highlight how important it is to continuously monitor and review antihypertensive regimens, with an emphasis on individualized treatment plans for each patient. In this case, shared decision-making between patients and clinicians is essential because of the variations in observed outcomes over a long period of time.

REFERENCES:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/common-medications-high-blood-pressure-long-term-health-risk
https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/side-effects-high-blood-pressure-medications
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure/changes-you-can-make-to-manage-high-blood-pressure/managing-high-blood-pressure-medications
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/939871

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Excessive salt consumption is common in the diets of middle-aged and older adults in the United States, and experts believe this has led to an increase in mortality over the past ten years. A low-sodium diet lowered blood pressure in almost three out of four participants in a recent study involving 213 individuals, as opposed to a high-sodium diet. Researchers found that the drop in blood pressure they saw was unrelated to the presence of hypertension or the use of blood pressure medications. The anti-hypertensive effect of the low-sodium diet was equivalent to that of a commonly used blood pressure medication. The American Heart Organization reports that nine out of ten Americans eat too much sodium. older and middle-aged U.S. S. Adults consume more sodium on average—3.5 g on average—than the World Health Organization’s recommended threshold for sodium reduction. Even in people with normal blood pressure, high-salt diets are frequently linked to increases in blood pressure and the risk of cardiovascular death.

“For the general population, it is recommended to have a sodium intake of under 2300mg per day,” said cardiologist Dr. Bradley Serwer, chief medical officer at cardiovascular and anesthesiology services provider VitalSolution, in an interview with Medical News Today. We advise against taking more than 1500 mg daily if you have high blood pressure or heart disease. To put this in perspective, there are roughly 2,300 mg of sodium in one tablespoon of salt. But differing blood pressure reactions to sodium consumption have cast doubt on dietary sodium recommendations. Additionally, little research has been done to date on how eating sodium affects blood pressure in individuals using blood pressure medications. According to a cutting-edge study supported by Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a low-sodium diet can lower blood pressure just as much as a prescription medication. This work was done in collaboration with researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Northwestern University. The term “salt sensitivity of blood pressure” (SSBP) describes variations in blood pressure correlated with variations in salt consumption. Naturally, blood pressure varies to keep the balance of sodium in the blood. Hormone imbalances governing sodium excretion and retention may contribute to susceptibility to SSBP. Although it is unclear how precisely sodium affects blood pressure, vascular dysregulation may also be to blame.

Michelle Routhenstein, a preventative cardiology dietitian at EntirelyNourished.com, who was not involved in the research, spoke with Medical News Today about this study. According to preliminary research, eating too much salt may lead to inflammation, which in turn can elevate blood pressure. “The first line of treatment for high blood pressure is always dietary restriction. Dr. Serwer clarified, “We start medication if someone is unable to achieve normal blood pressure with a low sodium diet.”. In this study, blood pressure responses to dietary sodium were examined within individuals, the blood pressure differences between those assigned to a high- or low-sodium diet initially, and whether these differences were related to baseline blood pressure and the use of antihypertensive medications. 213 community-based participants were enrolled in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA)–SSBP study between April 2021 and February 2023. The age range of the participants was 50 to 75. Of the 213 participants, 25% had normal blood pressure (normotension), 20% had hypertension under control, 31% had hypertension uncontrolled, and 25% had hypertension untreated.

The average age of those who finished both diets was sixty-one. Sixty-four percent of the group were Black, and sixty-five percent were female. Individuals who were ineligible for high- or low-sodium diets or who had resistant hypertension were not included. Two groups were randomly assigned to the participants. For one week, the groups were assigned to either a high sodium diet, which involved adding 2,200 mg of sodium to their usual diet, or a low sodium diet, which involved adding 500 mg of sodium. After that, they alternated diets for a week. Systolic blood pressure decreased after a week-long low-sodium diet, which was similar to the typical effect of 12.5 mg of the prescription hypertension medication hydrochlorothiazide. In total, 71.7% of people reported lower blood pressure after adopting a low-sodium diet. Norrina Allen, Ph.D., Dr. C. , of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, informed MNT that “This effect was consistent whether or not the patient was taking antihypertensive medicine.”. In contrast to 92.9 percent of those who consumed a high-sodium diet, only 8% of study participants reported any mild adverse events after this regimen. Furthermore, neither the individual nor the between-group changes were dependent on the use of blood pressure medications or the presence of hypertension. Additionally, the drops in blood pressure were similar amongst the subgroups.

The authors of the study think that by supplementing everyone’s usual diet with dietary sodium, they were able to capture realistic variations in sodium intake. It exceeded the sodium consumption of typical diets, unlike the diets used in the DASH-Sodium and GenSalt studies. The study’s utilization of a 24-hour urine sodium excretion, the gold standard technique for assessing sodium intake in population surveys, is one of its most notable strengths. Additionally, a larger range of people were included in the study to evaluate the impact of dietary sodium on blood pressure, including those with normal blood pressure, high blood pressure, treated or untreated, and appropriately managed or not, according to Routhenstein. Nevertheless, the researchers were unable to rule out the possibility of nonsodium dietary factors because the diets were not completely controlled. Thankfully, reducing salt intake doesn’t have to be difficult. According to Dr. Allen, the low-sodium diet consisted of items found in typical grocery stores. Reading food and beverage labels is highly advised. A lot of patients don’t know how much sodium is in some foods and beverages. Fast food, highly processed meals, canned vegetables, and even the food in fine dining establishments are frequently very high in sodium, Dr. Serwer warned. Everybody was urged by the cardiologist to cook at home whenever possible since they could manage the quantity of ingredients.

REFERENCES:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/consuming-less-salt-blood-pressure-drugs
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/even-if-you-take-meds-to-lower-blood-pressure-reducing-salt-still-helps
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/salt-reduction
https://www.everydayhealth.com/heart-health/cutting-down-on-salt-can-cut-blood-pressure-fast-even-if-you-take-blood-pressure-drugs/

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