A new study has uncovered that blood pressure swings your heart out. Really. The conclusion of this new research is that people should not only pay attention to their BP when it is too high or too low, but also when it fluctuates.
This is not a good sign, says the lead researcher Paul Muntner, an epidemiologist working in Birmingham, Ala., at the School of Public Health of the state university. Along with his team, he conducted a study on a very large group of people, trying to find if there are any connections between a fluctuating blood pressure and heart failure.
No less than one in three American citizens has problems with high BP.
Thus, the need for this kind of studies in the field of epidemiology is dire. Epidemiologists are specialists that look at the bigger picture of a disease on a set population and try to find patterns and similarities, after which they conduct research in which they suggest social measures to be taken. Health officials often look at their studies firstly before acting.
People participating in the study, some 26 thousand, were selected so that all of them was under some form of treatment for heart problems and taking BP meds. The results are worrying those having more than 14 mmHg variations in their systolic blood pressure had a 25% bigger risk of heart failure. So you know, the systolic blood pressure number shows up first on a measuring device.
Muntner warns in his research that people should check their BP more often, and that they should monitor fluctuations and alert their doctor if these readings are erratic. The people in the study were checked for blood pressure at 5 to 7 visits in periods of 6 to 28 months in which the research was conducted. One other conclusion of the study was that those having variations of 15 mm Hg had a 46% increased chance of having a stroke, and 30% bigger risk of their heart disease becoming fatal.
The lead researcher warns that, although the results of their study must not be taken lightly, there is no clear cause and effect linkage between blood pressure variations and heart disease. So one cannot assume one will die if his BP goes a little out of hand, but he or she is strongly advised to make for the doctor’s office.
The goal for all high BP patients, doctors say, should be getting to under 140 mm Hg systolic reading and bellow 90 mm Hg diastolic.
Image source: dailymail.co.uk
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