How high blood pressure and heart attack risk are linked: a new study by scientists

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If high blood pressure rises when a person is standing, it may indicate an increased risk of serious cardiovascular diseases, such as a heart attack. This was the conclusion reached by scientists from the University of Padua (Italy).

Researchers studied the data of 1,207 people who participated in a prospective study, which included adults aged 18 to 45 years with hypertension of the first stage. None of the participants were taking antihypertensive medication before the start of the study, and all participants were at low risk for serious cardiovascular problems based on lifestyle and medical history.

A total of 105 major cardiovascular events were noted during the 17 years of follow-up. . The most common were heart attack, chest pain and stroke. At the same time, study participants in whom systolic (upper) blood pressure increased by more than 6.5 mm Hg. Art. standing, were more likely to later have a heart attack, stroke, heart-related chest pain, or other serious heart disease. For those who had lower systolic pressure in this position, the risk was lower.

“We were very surprised that even a relatively small increase in blood pressure in the standing position (6-7 mm Hg. ) became a predictor of serious cardiac events in the long term,” says one of the authors of the study, Paolo Palatini, MD and professor at the University of Padua. At the same time, the scientists note: the results must be confirmed in large studies.