A condition called diverticulosis affects the gut. This means that there are tiny pouches in the lining of the intestine, a long tube that helps digest food.
This is more often found in older people and can sometimes cause serious health problems.
On the other hand, high blood pressure is a widespread issue. It affects one out of every ten adults around the world.
Having high blood pressure can lead to serious conditions like heart attacks or strokes. To manage high blood pressure, people usually have to change the way they live and take certain medicines.
Investigating Medicines for High Blood Pressure
Scientists from a place called Imperial College London decided to look more closely at three common medicines for high blood pressure.
These medicines are called ACE-inhibitors, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers. A lot of people take these medicines, but we don’t know everything about them yet.
The scientists used a method called genetic analysis to find out more about these medicines. This is a way of studying the information inside our cells that makes us who we are.
The scientists first figured out which proteins, tiny building blocks in our bodies, these drugs target to lower blood pressure.
Then, they studied the genetic information of about 750,000 people to find out more about these proteins.
Making a Connection to Gut Health
The scientists were interested in whether certain versions of these proteins could lead to an increased risk of other diseases. They studied this using information from a big research project in the UK called the UK Biobank.
What they found was surprising. They discovered that a certain type of calcium channel blocker, a kind of high blood pressure medicine, was connected to a higher risk of gut conditions like diverticulosis.
They think this could be because these medicines affect the muscles in the gut that help move food along.
Advice for People Taking Medicine
Even though this is a surprising finding, the scientists are clear that people should not stop taking their high blood pressure medicine because of this.
The scientists believe that this study doesn’t mean the rules for prescribing these medicines should change.
They strongly recommend that people continue to take their prescribed medicine unless they talk to their doctor first.
This study was led by a scientist named Dr. Dipender Gill and was published in a scientific magazine called Circulation.
This research is important because it helps us understand more about how medicines for high blood pressure might have unexpected effects on the body.
In the future, scientists will use this information to find ways to manage these possible risks while still effectively treating high blood pressure.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies about how fasting may help reverse high blood pressure naturally, and this diet could help reduce high blood pressure.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies about why people with high blood pressure more likely to have severe COVID-19, and results showing an important but ignored cause of high blood pressure.
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