There’s a condition called diverticulosis, which happens in the intestines. It creates small bulges or pockets in the lining. This is more often seen in older folks and sometimes, it can turn into a serious health problem.
Another common health issue across the globe is high blood pressure. It affects one in every ten adults and raises the risk of heart attacks and strokes. The usual ways to deal with high blood pressure are changes in lifestyle and certain medicines.
Now, let’s talk about a study done by a team from Imperial College London. They were curious about three popular blood pressure medicines: ACE-inhibitors, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers. Even though millions of people use these drugs, we don’t fully know all their side effects.
The researchers did some clever work using genetics to understand how these drugs work. They first figured out the proteins that these medicines target to lower blood pressure. Then, they looked at the genetic data from around 750,000 people to find variations in genes related to these proteins.
Their focus then shifted to calcium channel blockers, specifically a type called non-dihydropyridine. They wanted to see if these gene variations were connected to a higher or lower chance of other diseases. They used data from a big study called the UK Biobank to check the risk for about 900 diseases.
And here’s what they found: this particular type of calcium channel blocker, which is used for high blood pressure, might increase the risk of bowel conditions like diverticulosis.
They think this might happen because these drugs can affect how the muscles in the intestines work. These muscles are important because they help move food through the gut.
But the researchers are careful to say that their findings shouldn’t make doctors change how they prescribe blood pressure medicines right away.
They strongly suggest that patients shouldn’t just stop taking their blood pressure medication without talking to their doctor.
This study was led by Dr. Dipender Gill and his team, and the results were published in the journal Circulation. It’s an important step in understanding how common blood pressure drugs might interact with our bodies in ways we didn’t expect.
Looking ahead, there will probably be more research. The goal will be to reduce these potential side effects while still effectively managing high blood pressure. This kind of work helps us understand medicines better and make sure they’re as safe as they can be.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies about a common and unrecognized cause of high blood pressure, and this small habit can greatly benefit people with high blood pressure, and cholesterol.
For more information about health, please see recent studies that Beetroot juice could help lower high blood pressure, and results showing this common plant nutrient could help reduce high blood pressure.
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