{"id":17650,"date":"2020-08-26T11:42:42","date_gmt":"2020-08-26T11:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/?p=17650"},"modified":"2020-08-26T11:42:42","modified_gmt":"2020-08-26T11:42:42","slug":"blood-pressure-meds-dont-raise-risk-of-depression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bengalnewstimes.com\/?p=17650","title":{"rendered":"Blood Pressure Meds Don’t Raise Risk of Depression"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Latest High Blood Pressure News<\/h3>\n

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\"NewsBy Serena Gordon<\/b>
HealthDay Reporter<\/i><\/p>\n

TUESDAY, Aug. 25, 2020 (HealthDay News)<\/p>\n

If you have hypertension<\/a> and you’re depressed<\/a>, don’t blame your blood pressure<\/a> drugs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although previous research hinted there might be a connection between high blood pressure<\/a> medications and depression<\/a>, a new study of dozens of commonly used drugs<\/a> found no such link.<\/p>\n

In fact, the Danish researchers found the opposite — nine blood pressure<\/a> drugs were associated with a lower risk of depression<\/a>.<\/p>\n

How could blood pressure medication help depression<\/a>?<\/p>\n

“It is possible that the mechanism involved in decreasing the risk of depression<\/a> is the anti-inflammatory effect among these nine medications,” study author Dr. Lars Vedel Kessing said in a statement from the journal Hypertension<\/a><\/i>, where the findings were published Aug. 24. He’s a professor of psychiatry at the Psychiatric Center Copenhagen and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.<\/p>\n

Kessing added that more study is needed. But the findings might help doctors when choosing medications to treat high blood pressure<\/a> in patients who also have depression<\/a> or a high risk of depression<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He also noted that the study wasn’t designed to prove a cause-and-effect relationship between the medications and a lower risk of depression<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The new study relied on a Danish population registry. The researchers included 5.4 million people in Denmark in 2005 and followed their health outcomes until December 2015.<\/p>\n

During that time, nearly 3.75 million people were given a prescription for a high blood pressure medication<\/a>. The four major classes of medications used to treat high blood pressure<\/a>: angiotensin agents; calcium antagonists, beta blockers<\/a> and diuretics.<\/p>\n

Diuretics (commonly known as water pills) were the most commonly prescribed. More than 1.1 million people were given a prescription for a diuretic. Angiotensin agents (including ACE inhibitors<\/a> and ARBs<\/a>) were the second most commonly prescribed high blood pressure<\/a> drugs, with just over a million prescriptions. Calcium antagonists were prescribed more than 830,000 times, followed by beta blockers<\/a> with almost 780,000 prescriptions.<\/p>\n

The researchers looked at 41 drugs within those four classes of medications. None were linked to an increased risk of depression<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In fact, a few medications in each class — nine drugs total — were associated with a lower risk of depression. All nine are approved for use in the United States.<\/p>\n

Diuretics didn’t seem to impact depression risk.<\/p>\n

Drugs that lowered depression risk included: enalapril<\/a> (Vasotec<\/a>), ramipril<\/a> (Altace<\/a>), amlopidine (Norvasc<\/a>), verapamil<\/a> (Verelan<\/a>), verapamil<\/a> combination drugs, propranolol<\/a> (Inderal<\/a>), atenolol<\/a> (Tenormin<\/a>), bisoprolol<\/a> (Zebeta<\/a>) and carvedilol<\/a> (Coreg<\/a>).<\/p>\n


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Dr. Nieca Goldberg, an American Heart<\/a> Association volunteer expert, said this study’s scientific approach showed that “many drugs for high blood pressure<\/a> are not causing depression, and a couple may be associated with lower rates of depression.<\/p>\n

“Depression is very common, and these are very stressful times. People who are having symptoms of depression, whether they’re on high blood pressure medication<\/a> or not — generally negative feelings about their well-being, difficulty getting out of bed, can’t get up and get out, not eating properly — need to speak to their health care provider,” Goldberg noted. “Before you try to blame a medication for the way you’re feeling, have someone evaluate you.”<\/p>\n

Brittany LeMonda, a senior neuropsychologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said it’s common for people with higher blood pressure or heart disease<\/a> to also have depression. Sometimes medications can exacerbate depressive symptoms.<\/p>\n

“These new findings suggest that certain [high blood pressure<\/a> drugs] could actually help reduce symptoms of depression in certain individuals. Positive side effects from a drug used to treat another condition can be a significant benefit and even reduce the need for additional medications in the future,” she said.<\/p>\n

LeMonda agreed that lowering inflammation may play a role in why these drugs seemed to reduce the risk of depression. “Reducing inflammation has positive effects on one’s physical and mental health<\/a> and is an important mechanism for future research,” she said.<\/p>\n

\"MedicalNews\"
Copyright \u00a9 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n


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References<\/p>\n


\n SOURCES: Nieca Goldberg, M.D., American Heart Association volunteer expert, director, NYU Center for Women’s Health, and co-medical director, 92nd Street Y Cardiac Rehabilitation, New York City; Brittany LeMonda, Ph.D., senior neuropsychologist, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City; Hypertension<\/i>, Aug. 24, 2020 \n <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n