Study: The body’s biological clock “determines” the best time to take blood pressure medications

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A new study has found that people with high blood pressure who take their medications at a specific time (morning or evening) could be less likely to have a heart attack.

Researchers at the University of Dundee in Scotland explained that an individual's chronotype (the time he wants to wake up and sleep, "the body clock") can affect how he interacts with blood pressure medications.

The study included more than 5,000 people who completed a questionnaire to assess their chronotype, with about half of them taking their usual blood pressure-lowering medications in the morning, and the other half in the evening.

The university's medical school found that people with early chronotypes were less likely to have a heart attack when they took their medications in the morning rather than at night.

It was also found that participants with later chronotypes, who took their medications in the evening, were less likely to have a heart attack than those who took them in the morning.

The results concluded that taking antihypertensive medications at a time consistent with personal chronotypes can provide additional protection for the heart.

Dr Filippo Bigazzani, Senior Clinical Lecturer and Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at the University of Dundee, said: “Our research has shown for the first time that considering chronotype when deciding when to dose antihypertensive drugs can reduce the risk of heart disease. However, before it changes any "If a patient is scheduled to take antihypertensive medications, our findings must first be confirmed in new randomized clinical trials."

Dr Kenneth Dyar, who helped prepare the study, added: “We all have an internal biological clock that determines our chronotype. This internal time is genetically determined and affects 24-hour biological functions, including gene expression, blood pressure rhythms and how we respond to medications. It is important "Doctors should remember that not all patients are the same and humans show wide variations in their chronotype, and these personality differences are known to influence disease risk."

It is noteworthy that the study was conducted in cooperation with Helmholtz Munich, and in partnership with a team of researchers from the United Kingdom, Italy, and the United States.

The study was published in the journal eClinicalMedicine.