Scientists have found that using common blood pressure and heart failure medications for a long time might hurt the kidneys.
These drugs, such as ACE inhibitors, are very important for many people, but researchers now want to study more about their long-term effects.
The new study comes from the University of Virginia and was published in the journal JCI Insight. Dr. Maria Luisa Sequeira Lopez and her team wanted to understand why very high blood pressure can cause blood vessels in the kidneys to thicken. When this happens, the kidneys can be damaged.
High blood pressure is a major health problem that affects around one billion people around the world. Doctors often prescribe medicines like ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers to treat high blood pressure and lower the chances of heart attacks and heart failure.
These medications work by changing how the body controls blood pressure through a system called the renin-angiotensin system.
But the study found that a special kind of kidney cell, called a renin cell, might be involved in kidney damage. Normally, these cells help make a hormone called renin that controls blood pressure. But when these cells act in unusual ways, they can move into the walls of kidney blood vessels.
This causes another type of cell—called a smooth muscle cell—to grow and build up. As a result, the blood vessels become thicker and stiffer. This makes it harder for blood to flow to the kidneys, and over time, this can harm the kidneys.
The researchers saw these changes in both lab mice and human patients who had taken ACE inhibitors and similar drugs for a long time. The kidney blood vessels in these subjects were harder and thicker than normal.
Even with these findings, the scientists say people should not stop taking their medication. These drugs are still very important for keeping blood pressure under control and protecting the heart. But the researchers believe that more studies are needed to understand how these drugs affect the kidneys over many years.
This research shows the need to be careful when using medications for a long time. While the benefits are clear, doctors and scientists must also think about the possible long-term side effects. In the future, better treatments may be developed that protect both the heart and the kidneys.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and natural coconut sugar could help reduce blood pressure and artery stiffness.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies about How to eat your way to healthy blood pressure and results showing that Modified traditional Chinese cuisine can lower blood pressure.
