(Globe and Mail) — A new study on heart medications adds credence to that old saying, “timing is everything.”
Canadian scientists found that drugs known as ACE inhibitors – used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure – are far more effective when taken before going to sleep. In fact, when administered during wake time, they are no better than placebos, according to the findings published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
This new study is part of a burgeoning field of research known as chronotherapy, in which medical treatments are timed to correspond with the body’s natural 24-hour circadian rhythm.
The researchers at the University of Toronto and the University of Guelph already had good reason to believe the principles of chronotherapy may apply to these drugs. Previous research has shown that the cardiovascular system goes through a daily cycle, with blood pressure normally rising in the morning and dipping at night.
For their study, they gave a short-acting ACE inhibitor, called captopril (brand name Capoten), at different times of day to laboratory mice with high blood pressure. Heart tissues from the rodents were then examined as part of the analysis.
“We found that when we gave this drug at sleep time, the structure and function of the heart was significantly improved,” said the study’s lead author, Tami Martino of the University of Guelph. However, when the drug was given while the rodents were awake, it seemed to “have no effect at all” in terms of protecting the heart from the damage caused by high blood pressure, she added.
(7 votes, average: 3.71 out of 5)
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Makes one shake the head…..
I discovered that about Ace inhibitors a few years ago as I was cutting back on some of my medication. I took one was taking one ACE in the morning and another at night plus two channel blockers. I checked my pressure in the morning after taking the ACE and pressure never dropped. However at night it would drop 3-4 points. I stopped taking my morning ACE and eventually stopped taking the evening ACE. Also cut my Beta Blockers in half with no rise in blood pressure. The doctors had me over medicated for HBP!
Too many pharmacists and doctors are not aware of potentially toxic combinations of blood pressure drugs that can negatively affect the kidney and/or the heart especially in the older population, or those like myself with a diagnosed kidney problem that possibly could have been averted.