What time of day should you take your blood pressure medication?
Peer-reviewed: This work was reviewed and scrutinised by relevant independent experts.
Randomised controlled trial: Subjects are randomly assigned to a test group, which receives the treatment, or a control group, which commonly receives a placebo. In 'blind' trials, participants do not know which group they are in; in ‘double blind’ trials, the experimenters do not know either. Blinding trials helps removes bias.
People: This is a study based on research using people.
Randomised controlled trial: Subjects are randomly assigned to a test group, which receives the treatment, or a control group, which commonly receives a placebo. In 'blind' trials, participants do not know which group they are in; in ‘double blind’ trials, the experimenters do not know either. Blinding trials helps removes bias.
People: This is a study based on research using people.
It could be ok to take blood pressure-lowering medication before bedtime rather than in the morning, according to Canadian researchers. The randomised trial looked at 3,357 patients with hypertension, and after a follow up of around four and a half years, they found taking blood pressure-lowering medications at bedtime had no effect on death or major heart events. They also found no difference in visual, mental, or fall- and fracture-related safety outcomes. The team says that time of day did not seem to affect risks and benefits of taking the blood pressure-lowering medication, and doctors could instead look at what time of day the patients prefer to take them.
Funder: Funding/Support: BedMed was funded by a
Support for Patient Oriented Research Innovative
Clinical Trial multi-year grant (151212) from the
Canadian Institutes of Health Research and by a
Partnership for Research and Innovation in the
Health System grant from Alberta Innovates
(201500912G2019000450). BedMed also
received in-kind research assistance from the
Enhancing Alberta Primary Care Research Networks
(EnACt), which itself is funded entirely by Alberta
Innovates, and received pilot funding from the
Northern Alberta Family Medicine Fund (University
of Alberta Department of Family Medicine). Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Dr Padwal
reported being past chief executive officer of
mmHg, a digital health company. Dr Hill reported
receipt of grants from Boehringer Ingelheim and
Medtronic to the University of Calgary and being
president of the not-for-profit Canadian
Neurological Sciences Federation. Dr Singer
reported being paid by the University of Manitoba
for academic work; receiving honoraria for advisory
work by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of
Manitoba (2024), Canadian Cardiovascular Society
(2024), Manitoba’s Southern Chiefs Organization
(2021-2023), and Canadian Association of Drugs
and Technology for Health (2024); participating on
teams with grant funding from the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research, Research Manitoba,
Public Health Agency of Canada, Bayer
(administered by Research Manitoba), Children’s
Hospital Research Foundation, Health Science
Centre Foundation, and Pfizer; being the principal
investigator on a grant funded by IBM and Calian
administered by the Canadian Institute for Military
and Veterans Health Research; and participating in
advocacy committees for the College of Family
Physicians of Canada, Canadian Cardiovascular
Society, and Choosing Wisely Canada. No other
disclosures were reported.
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