Nighttime Blood Pressure Linked to Heart Failure

Absence of normal drop more than doubles the risk, study finds

By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter

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TUESDAY, June 27 (HealthDay News) -- People whose blood pressure doesn't go down a bit at night may be at high risk of developing congestive heart failure, a potentially fatal condition, a Swedish study found.

"Our data indicate that non-dipping is a strong risk factor, with high relative risk (approximately 2.3 times) after adjustment for established risk factors," said Dr. Erik Ingelsson, a research fellow at Uppsala University and lead author of the report in the June 28 Journal of the American Medical Association.

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Previous studies have shown that the absence of the nighttime dip in blood pressure that occurs in most people as they sleep is associated with medical problems, Ingelsson said.

"This study adds to the current knowledge about the importance of nighttime blood pressure patterns by adding heart failure to the outcomes predicted by an increased nighttime blood pressure," he said.

Congestive heart failure, in which the heart loses its ability to pump blood, is one of the deadliest cardiac conditions, with patients facing a two-in-three chance of dying within five years, the researchers noted. High blood pressure is known to be a major risk factor for the condition.

The Swedish project included 951 older men who were free of major heart problems and whose blood pressure was monitored for 24 hours when they entered the study between 1990 and 1995. By 2002, 70 of the men had developed heart failure. An analysis that accounted for other risk factors, such as smoking, diabetes and cholesterol levels, found the greatest increased risk was among men whose blood pressure did not dip at all during the night.

But it's not at all certain that one possible preventive measure -- 24-hour blood pressure monitoring -- would be an effective step in spotting and preventing the problem, Ingelsson said.

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