Bedtime blood pressure lowering medication prevents heart attacks, strokes: DAK
Srinagar: Doctors Association Kashmir (DAK) on Friday said taking medication for lowering blood pressure at bedtime prevents heart attacks and strokes.
The DAK said this in a statement issued on the occasion of ‘World Hypertension Day’.
“If you take your blood pressure pill at bedtime, you have less chances of getting a heart attack or stroke,” said DAK President, Dr Nisar ul Hassan.
Quoting a study, Dr Nisar said patients who took blood pressure pills at bedtime were “one-third less likely to suffer from a heart attack or stroke than those who took pills in the morning”.
“Blood pressure shows a 24-hour rhythm, higher during the day and lower during nighttime. However, people with high blood pressure do not exhibit this nighttime dip. This non-dipping increase the risk of heart attack and stroke,” he said.
Dr Nisar said that sleep-time blood pressure was “best reduced when medication is taken at bedtime”.
As per the findings of the study he quoted, Dr Nisar said that it was “time to reconsider the timing of your blood pressure medication”.
“If you are taking only one pill, take it at nighttime. If you are taking more than one drug, then taking one of them at night before bed makes sense,” he said.
Dr Nisar called high blood pressure, also called hypertension, a “silent killer and a modern epidemic”.
He said it was the “most important cause of preventable death”.
“Many people don’t know they have high blood pressure. There are no symptoms and some people only find out after they suffer a heart attack or stroke,” he said.
He said that less than half the people with hypertension have had their blood pressure measured and their condition diagnosed.
Of those who have been diagnosed, less than half are treated – so this is an enormous health issue, added Dr Nisar.
“Every year on May 17, ‘World Hypertension Day’ is observed to raise awareness about high blood pressure among people and to encourage them to prevent and control this silent killer,” he said.
KV News
