High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a common health issue that affects about one in ten adults worldwide.
It can cause serious health problems like heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease if not managed properly. To control it, many people follow healthier lifestyles and take medications.
There are several kinds of drugs used to lower blood pressure. Three of the most common types are ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, and calcium channel blockers. These medications are widely used and have helped millions of people around the world. However, scientists still don’t fully understand all the possible side effects of these drugs.
Researchers at Imperial College London decided to take a closer look. They used a special scientific method that studies how genes affect proteins in the body.
Their goal was to figure out which proteins the blood pressure drugs target. Then, they compared this information with genetic data from about 750,000 people. They were looking for natural gene changes that work like the drugs do.
Once they found the right proteins, the researchers checked to see if these same proteins might also be linked to other health problems. They looked at almost 900 different diseases using data from a large health study in the UK.
What they found was unexpected. One type of calcium channel blocker appeared to be linked to a higher risk of bowel conditions, particularly a condition called diverticulosis. This condition causes small pouch-like structures to form in the wall of the intestine. It’s more common in older adults and can sometimes cause pain, infection, or bleeding.
The scientists believe that this type of medication might affect how the muscles in the intestines contract. This could slow down how food moves through the gut, which might lead to problems like diverticulosis over time.
Even though this finding is important, the researchers warn that people should not stop taking their blood pressure medicine without talking to their doctor first.
These medications are still very effective and necessary for controlling high blood pressure. The link between the drug and bowel problems is still being studied and more research is needed to fully understand it.
This study helps us see how important it is to understand both the benefits and the side effects of medicines. As we learn more, doctors may be able to choose the best treatment for each person—one that lowers blood pressure without causing other health issues.
In the end, blood pressure medications save lives. But like all medicines, they can have side effects. This new research shows a possible connection between a common drug and gut problems, reminding us that medical research is always discovering new things.
If you’re taking medicine for high blood pressure and have any concerns, be sure to speak with your healthcare provider.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies that timing matters when taking high blood pressure pills and 1 in 5 people with high blood pressure taking a drug worsen the disease.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies that new research challenges conventional blood pressure guidelines and scientists make a big breakthrough in high blood pressure treatment.
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