Follow
A recent study claims that blood pressure fluctuations may indicate heart disease. The findings of the new study reveal that people should not only watch out for when their blood pressure is too low or too high, but when it fluctuates as well.
An epidemiologist from the School of Public Health in Birmingham and the lead author of the study, Paul Muntner said that fluctuations in the blood pressure spell out trouble. Together with a team of researchers, Muntner conducted the recent study on a large group of individuals, in an attempt to discover if there is any connection between blood pressure fluctuations and heart failure.
Around one in every three citizens from America has troubles with high blood pressure. Therefore, these kinds of studies in epidemiology are definitely needed. Epidemiologists are experts that look at the overall picture of diseases in the population and attempt to find similarities and patterns. After they find any similarities or patterns they begin conducting studies in order to recommend social measures that need to be taken. Health officials usually analyze these studies before they act.
The people participating in the recent research, around 26,000 were chosen so that all of them were taking blood pressure medication and were under a form of treatment for their heart problems. The discoveries are very distressing, as the people who had over 14 mmHg variations in their blood pressure had a 25 percent higher chance of suffering heart failure.
Muntner said in his study that people should keep an eye on their blood pressure constantly. They should also monitor the fluctuations and notify their physicians if the readings prove to be erratic. The individuals in the recent research were examined for blood pressure for a period of 6 to 28 months in the time the study was conducted for around 5 to 7 times. The study also concluded that the people who have a variation of 15 mmHg had a 46 percent higher chance of suffering from a stroke, and a 30 percent increased chance of their heart disease to become fatal.
The researcher said that, even though the discoveries of the new study shouldn’t be taken lightly, there isn’t any clear effect or cause connecting heart diseases to blood pressure fluctuations. So people shouldn’t assume that if they have a little fluctuation in their blood pressure they will undoubtedly die. However, they should get themselves checked with a physician.
Image Source: rackcdn.com
