One High Blood Pressure Reading Ups Health Risk

Among patients treated for high blood pressure, one high blood pressure reading at a doctor’s visit increases the risk of health problems, new research indicates.

Among patients treated for high blood pressure, one high blood pressure reading at a doctor’s visit increases the risk of health problems, new research indicates.Patients who showed a single 10-point increase in systolic pressure — the top number on a blood pressure reading — had a higher risk of experiencing kidney problems, heart disease, stroke and heart attack within the next five years. These findings suggest that a single spike in blood pressure can have serious consequences for health, study author Dr. William Tierney told Reuters Health. Tierney, based at the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, explained that he hears many excuses from patients as to why their blood pressure might be higher than usual — they are upset, they ran from the parking lot, they forgot to take their medicine that morning. “So we doctors think, ‘I’ll check it again next time’,” Tierney said. “Next time it may still be up, and the patient has another excuse. Our study suggests that we ignore the excuses and instead use the elevated blood pressure as our excuse to intensify their blood pressure regimen.” When a spike in pressure occurs in a patient being treated for high blood pressure, Tierney recommended that doctors increase the dose of one or more medications, add a new blood pressure medication, and check to make sure patients are taking their prescribed drugs everyday. The study was funded by Bristol-Meyers Squibb, which sells a number of cardiovascular medications. Tierney and his colleagues reviewed the medical records of 5,825 patients treated for high blood pressure, or hypertension. The researchers noted the blood pressure measurements taken at one doctor’s visit in 1993, and who developed health problems over the next 5 years. Reporting in the Annals of Family Medicine, Tierney’s team found that people with a 10-point increase in systolic pressure during the visit had a 13 percent higher risk of kidney problems, a 9 percent higher risk of heart disease, a 7 percent higher risk of stroke, and a 6 percent higher risk of experiencing their first stroke or heart attack. In addition, people whose heart rates were 10 beats higher per minute during the doctor visit showed a 16 percent higher risk of dying over the next 5 years. Although blood pressure can vary widely throughout the course of the day, Tierney said that he hopes doctors who treat patients with high blood pressure take the dangers of single spikes in pressure to heart. “Since I saw our study results, I have been much more aggressive with treating elevated blood pressures whenever I see them,” he said. (SOURCE: Annals of Family Medicine: May/June 2004: Reuters Health News)