A new study from Penn State and other research institutions has raised concerns about some of the most common drugs used to treat high blood pressure.
These drugs, called L-type calcium channel blockers (LCCBs), are meant to relax blood vessels and lower blood pressure.
But researchers found that they might actually increase the risk of heart failure for some patients.
High blood pressure, or hypertension, affects nearly half of all adults in the United States. That’s over 100 million people. Around the world, the number of people with high blood pressure is expected to grow to more than 1.5 billion by the year 2025.
If left untreated, high blood pressure can lead to serious health problems, including heart attacks, strokes, and kidney disease.
Doctors often prescribe LCCBs to help manage high blood pressure. These drugs work by relaxing the muscles in the walls of blood vessels, allowing the vessels to widen and reducing pressure. This makes it easier for the heart to pump blood.
However, the new study suggests that these drugs may have unintended side effects. They may cause changes in the blood vessels that actually make the heart work harder over time. This could raise the risk of heart failure.
Inside our arteries are special muscle cells called vascular smooth muscle cells. These cells help control how wide or narrow our blood vessels are. Calcium plays a big role in this process, allowing these muscle cells to contract and relax.
In people with high blood pressure, too much calcium can enter these cells, causing the blood vessels to become thicker and stiffer—a process known as remodeling. This makes it harder for blood to flow and increases blood pressure even more.
LCCBs were designed to stop calcium from entering these cells, and in theory, prevent this damage. But the researchers found something unexpected.
While LCCBs do block calcium, they also seem to trigger remodeling in a different way. This means they might still be damaging the blood vessels even though they are doing their job of lowering blood pressure.
To explore this, scientists ran lab tests on cells and experiments in rats. They also studied the medical records of patients at Penn State. They found that people taking LCCBs had a higher chance of developing heart failure compared to those using other blood pressure medicines.
These findings suggest that doctors may need to be more careful when choosing blood pressure medications for some patients, especially older adults or those with very high blood pressure. The study also warned that people taking these drugs who get COVID-19 should be closely watched, as the virus can also damage blood vessels.
There are many ways to manage high blood pressure. Some research suggests that natural methods like intermittent fasting or drinking cherry juice can help lower blood pressure. On the other hand, marijuana use may raise the risk of death in people with high blood pressure. Getting the right blood pressure cuff size also matters for accurate readings.
The study was led by Mohamed Trebak and published in the journal PNAS. The results highlight the need for more research to find safer and more effective ways to treat high blood pressure without putting patients at risk for other serious health issues.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about the ideal blood pressure for older people and common high blood pressure drugs may cause memory problems.
For more about blood pressure, please read studies about A common blood pressure medication that could help you live longer and 1 in 5 people with high blood pressure takes a medication that harms blood pressure.
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