High blood pressure is a health problem that affects millions of people around the world. About one in ten adults lives with this condition.
If not treated properly, it can lead to serious health issues like heart attacks and strokes. That’s why doctors often recommend lifestyle changes and medications to help control it.
Many people take medications every day to manage their blood pressure. While these drugs can be life-saving, it’s also important to be aware of their possible side effects. A new study from Imperial College London has found a possible link between one type of blood pressure drug and a gut condition called diverticulosis.
Diverticulosis happens when small pouches form in the lining of the intestines. This condition becomes more common as people get older.
In fact, up to 65% of people over the age of 85 have it. Many people with diverticulosis don’t feel any symptoms, but in some cases, it can cause problems like infections or even a tear in the intestine, which might require emergency surgery.
The researchers looked at three popular types of blood pressure medications: ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, and calcium-channel blockers.
Instead of using expensive and time-consuming clinical trials, they used a different method called genetic analysis. This method studies changes in people’s genes to see how the body reacts to different medications over time.
The research team started by finding the proteins in the body that these drugs target. Then, they used genetic information from about 750,000 people to study how natural gene differences affected the same proteins. This helped them understand what long-term effects the drugs might have.
Their results showed something expected and something unexpected. First, they found that people with gene variations linked to lower blood pressure had a lower risk of heart attacks and strokes. That was good news. But they also found that a certain type of calcium-channel blocker, known as a non-dihydropyridine, was linked to a higher risk of diverticulosis.
The scientists believe this might happen because the drug affects the muscles in the intestine. These muscles help move food through the gut, and if they don’t work well, it could lead to the formation of those small pouches.
This is the first time a study has shown a possible connection between this type of blood pressure drug and diverticulosis. To make sure their findings were solid, the researchers checked other sets of genetic data and found the same link.
Even though this discovery is important, it doesn’t mean people should stop taking their medicine. Keeping your blood pressure under control is still very important to avoid serious health issues. However, the findings do show that more research is needed to understand how blood pressure medications affect other parts of the body.
If you have high blood pressure, it’s a good idea to learn about both medical treatments and lifestyle habits that can help. Some foods and natural products, like cinnamon, may help lower blood pressure. Others, like black licorice, could make it worse. Talking to your doctor can help you choose the safest and most effective treatment.
This study, led by Dr. Dipender Gill and published in the journal Circulation, gives us new information about how common medicines might have unexpected effects. As scientists continue to study these links, we may discover better and safer ways to manage high blood pressure in the future.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies about unhealthy habits that may increase high blood pressure risk, and drinking green tea could help lower blood pressure.
For more information about high blood pressure, please see recent studies about what to eat or to avoid for high blood pressure, and 12 foods that lower blood pressure.
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