Blood pressure medication can prevent heart attacks and strokes, even in people with normal blood pressure, according to new research.
It has previously been contested whether blood pressure medication is equally beneficial in heart attack and stroke patients compared to those who haven’t had a stroke or heart attack, and when blood pressure is normal.
But new research, presented at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2020, has found that it can.
“Greater drops in blood pressure with medication lead to greater reductions in the risk of heart attacks and strokes,” said principal investigator Kazem Rahimi of the University of Oxford.
“This holds true regardless of the starting blood pressure level, in people who previously had a heart attack or stroke, and in people who have never had heart disease.”
However, Rahimi says that this doesn’t mean everyone should be treated.
“This decision will depend on an individual’s likelihood of suffering cardiovascular disease in the future. There are a number of risk calculators health professionals can use. Other factors to consider are the potential for side effects and the cost of treatment.”
The researchers combined data on almost 350,000 people who had collectively participated in a total of 48 clinical trials overall.
Participants were separated into those with a prior diagnosis of cardiovascular disease and those without, and divided again into seven subgroups based on their blood pressure at the beginning of the study.
In follow-up studies, reductions in blood pressure lowered the relative risk of stroke, heart disease, heart failure and death from cardiovascular disease. Neither the presence of cardiovascular disease nor the level of blood pressure at the start of a study influenced the effects of their treatment.
“The decision to prescribe blood pressure medication shouldn’t be based simply on a prior diagnosis of cardiovascular disease or an individual’s current blood pressure. Rather, blood pressure medication should be viewed as an effective tool for reducing cardiovascular risk when an individual’s probability of having a heart attack or stroke is elevated,” says Rahimi.
