Feinberg
Northwestern Medicine | Northwestern University | Faculty Profiles

News Center

  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Menu
  • Categories
    • Campus News
    • Disease Discoveries
    • Clinical Breakthroughs
    • Education News
    • Scientific Advances
  • Press Releases
  • Media Coverage
  • Podcasts
  • Editor’s Picks
    • COVID-19
    • Cardiology
    • Cancer
    • Neurology and Neuroscience
    • Aging and Longevity
    • Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
  • News Archives
  • About Us
    • Media Contact
    • Share Your News
    • News Feeds
    • Social Media
    • Contact Us
Home » Blood Pressure Medication Can’t Undo All Damage
Clinical Breakthroughs

Blood Pressure Medication Can’t Undo All Damage

By Erin SpainOct 21, 2015
Share
Facebook Twitter Email
Lloyd-Jones_Mar2013
Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, chair of Preventive Medicine, was senior author of the study that found that patients on antihypertensive medications are still at greater risk of cardiovascular disease, despite controlled numbers.

Treating out-of-control blood pressure with antihypertensive medication can greatly reduce your risk for heart attack, stroke and heart failure, but the current approach to treatment can’t undo all of the previous damage or restore cardiovascular disease risk to ideal levels, a new Northwestern Medicine study suggests.

The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, sought to determine whether effective treatment of hypertension could lower the risk of cardiovascular disease to that seen in people who have always had ideal blood pressure levels.

“The best outcomes were seen in those who always had ideal levels of blood pressure and never required medications,” said Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, chair of the Department the Preventive Medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and senior author of the study. “Those who were treated with medication and achieved ideal levels were still at roughly twice the risk of those with untreated ideal levels. And, of course, people with untreated or uncontrolled high blood pressure were at even greater risk.”

He stressed that it remains very important to treat high blood pressure and that lowering blood pressure with antihypertensive medications has been found to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease significantly in middle-aged and older adults.

The new findings strongly suggest that there should be an even greater effort to maintain lower blood pressure levels in younger adults to avoid increases in blood pressure over time that may eventually require medication.

“A greater focus on healthy lifestyles, such as healthier eating patterns, with more fruits and vegetables and lower sodium intake and regular participation in physical activity are the best means for preventing blood pressure levels that might require medication,” Dr. Lloyd-Jones said.

Northwestern Medicine scientists analyzed data from nearly nine thousand participants from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) studies.

They found that MESA participants on antihypertensive medication (all aged 50 years or older at baseline) with well-controlled hypertension (<120/<80 mm Hg), still had twice the risk of cardiovascular disease events in the next nine and a half years compared with participants who had the same low blood pressure levels without treatment.

Results from the CARDIA participants indicate that middle-aged adults with blood pressure well-controlled by medication had longer exposure to higher blood pressure levels throughout young adulthood than those with ideal blood pressure without medication. As a result, they had significantly higher risk of end-organ damage, as measured by left ventricular mass, kidney function and the presence of coronary artery calcification.

Future studies are still needed to investigate whether earlier treatment with medications could abolish excess cardiovascular disease risk found in this study, according to the authors.

The CARDIA study is funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) (HHSN268201300025C, HHSN268201300026C, HHSN268201300027C, HHSN2682-01300028C, HHSN268201300029C and HHSN268200-900041C), the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and an intra-agency agreement between NIA and NHLBI (AG0005). The MESA study is supported by the National Center for Research Resources (N01-HC-95159, N01-HC-95160, N01-HC-95161, N01-HC-95162,N01-HC-95163, N01-HC-95164, N01-HC-95165, N01-HC-95166, N01-HC-95167, N01-HC-95168 and N01-HC-95169) and from the NHLBI by grants UL1-TR-000040 and UL1-RR-025005.

Cardiology Research
Share. Facebook Twitter Email

Related Posts

Largest cell map of human lung reveals insights into disease

Jun 8, 2023

Biological Aging Increases Risk of Depression, Anxiety in Adults 

Jun 7, 2023

Developing New Nanoparticle Treatments for Brain Tumors

Jun 6, 2023

Comments are closed.

Latest News

Largest cell map of human lung reveals insights into disease

Jun 8, 2023

McNally Honored with Walder Award

Jun 8, 2023

Biological Aging Increases Risk of Depression, Anxiety in Adults 

Jun 7, 2023

Developing New Nanoparticle Treatments for Brain Tumors

Jun 6, 2023

Newly Discovered Mechanisms Increase Chemotherapy Resistance in Breast Cancer 

Jun 5, 2023
  • News Center Home
  • Categories
  • Press Release
  • Media Coverage
  • Editor’s Picks
  • News Archives
  • About Us
Flickr Photos
ANB05555
ANB08990
ANB09022
ANB09063
ANB09008
ANB08781
ANB08971
ANB09000
ANB08992
ANB09015
ANB09058
ANB09048

Northwestern University logo

Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

RSS Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr YouTube Instagram
Copyright © 2023 Northwestern University
  • Contact Northwestern University
  • Disclaimer
  • Campus Emergency Information
  • Policy Statements

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.