Study: Bedtime Blood Pressure Pills Better

Taking blood pressure drugs at night might improve people’s health, new research suggests. The study included 661 people with kidney disease and high blood pressure. They were randomly divided into two groups. One group took blood pressure medicines in the morning. The other group took at least one of the medicines at night. Researchers then kept track of them for an average of 5½ years. In that time, people who took medicine at night had better blood pressure control. They also were about one-third as likely to have a heart attack or stroke, or to develop heart failure, as those who took morning pills. Researchers noted that these results occurred with no extra cost. The Journal of the American Society of Nephrology published the study online. HealthDay News wrote about it October 24.