Do you take your blood pressure medication in the morning or at night? The time of day could negatively affect your health, according to a new report.
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Researchers from Spain recently conducted a study, published in the European Heart Journal, to explore the best time of day to take hypertension medication.
To do so, they examined nearly 20,000 adults from the Hygia Project, a network of care centers in Spain. The patients either took their blood pressure medication at bedtime or upon waking and were followed for up to six years. During the length of the assessment, the subjects’ ambulatory blood pressure was checked over 48 hours at least once a year.
After analyzing the results, the team found those who took their medicine at night had a 45% overall reduced chance of dying from or suffering a heart attack, compared to patients who took it in the morning. Bedtime medicine takers also had a 45% overall reduced risk of stroke, heart failure or requiring a procedure to unblock narrowed arteries.
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When the scientists looked at individual results, they said those who took their pills at night had a 66% decreased risk of death from heart or blood vessel problems, a 42% reduced chance of heart failure and a 49% lower chance of stroke.
"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," co-author Ramon Hermida said in a statement.
Although the researchers noted there are no current guidelines for when you should take blood pressure medicine, they said doctors typically suggest taking it at the top of the day.
“Morning ingestion has been the most common recommendation by physicians based on the misleading goal of reducing morning blood pressure levels,” Hermida said. “However, the Hygia Project has reported previously that average systolic blood pressure when a person is asleep is the most significant and independent indication of cardiovascular disease risk, regardless of blood pressure measurements taken while awake or when visiting a doctor.”
They also said there are no studies that prove taking the pills in the morning improves cardiovascular disease risk.
Want to learn more about the findings? Take a look at here.
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