High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, affects millions of people around the world. It happens when the force of blood pushing against the walls of the arteries is too strong.
If not treated, high blood pressure can lead to serious problems like heart disease, stroke, and kidney damage.
There are many reasons why someone might develop high blood pressure. These include family history, getting older, being overweight, not getting enough physical activity, smoking, and eating foods high in salt or unhealthy fats.
Because high blood pressure usually doesn’t cause any clear symptoms, it’s often called the “silent killer.” Many people don’t even know they have it until they get checked by a doctor. That’s why regular blood pressure checks are so important. If caught early, high blood pressure can often be managed with lifestyle changes and medicine.
To lower high blood pressure, people can try exercising regularly, eating less salt, keeping a healthy weight, quitting smoking, and drinking less alcohol. These changes can make a big difference.
Sometimes, lifestyle changes aren’t enough, and medicine is needed. Common medicines include diuretics, ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, and angiotensin receptor blockers. These drugs help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of complications.
But a recent study from the University of Virginia has found something new that could be important for people who take these medicines over a long time. The study looked closely at a group of drugs called ACE inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers. These drugs are often used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure.
The researchers discovered that while these medicines are important for many patients, they might have a downside when used for many years. The study found signs of possible kidney damage linked to the long-term use of these drugs.
High blood pressure by itself can harm the kidneys by making the arteries and small blood vessels thicker and harder. The study showed that special cells in the kidney, called renin cells, may be involved in this damage.
These cells normally help control blood pressure by making a hormone called renin. But when something goes wrong, the renin cells can move into the walls of kidney blood vessels and cause thickening and reduced blood flow.
Even more concerning, the study found similar damage in both lab mice and humans who had taken these medications for a long time.
Still, experts say that people should not stop taking their medications. These drugs save lives and help many people. More research is needed to fully understand how these medicines might affect the kidneys in the long run.
To stay healthy, people with high blood pressure should keep track of their blood pressure regularly, follow their doctor’s advice, and try to manage stress. Stress-relieving activities like meditation, deep breathing, yoga, and regular exercise can also help.
With the right treatment and healthy habits, people with high blood pressure can still live full, active lives.
This important study was led by Dr. Maria Luisa Sequeira Lopez and published in the journal JCI Insight. It helps us understand how complex treating high blood pressure can be and why it’s important to keep learning about the long-term effects of medicine.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about Timing matters when taking high blood pressure pills and findings of 1 in 5 people with high blood pressure taking a drug worsen the disease.
For more information about blood pressure, please read studies about New research challenges conventional blood pressure guidelines and findings of Scientists make a big breakthrough in high blood pressure treatment.
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