Heart attack fears over blood pressure drugs

PATIENTS could face an increased risk of heart attack due to common treatments for high blood pressure, researchers from Yorkshire have claimed.
Among treatments for the condition are drugs to reduce the heartbeat which block calcium flowing through channels to cells in the heart.

The channels are linked to muscle contraction but are also fundamental to electrical currents which create the heartbeat.

Scientists from Leeds University have discovered the channels gradually fail as people age and these are a likely factor in irregular heartbeats and heart attacks in the elderly.

They conclude that by blocking the channels to treat high blood pressure, doctors could be unwittingly increasing the likelihood of other problems developing, including heart attacks and irregular heartbeats.

Researcher Matthew Lancaster, of the faculty of biological sciences at the university, said: “Many people suffer from an irregular
heartbeat as they grow older and large numbers have pacemakers fitted.

“Making the link between these heart problems and the failure of the calcium channels as we age has flagged up a warning sign that some common medical treatments may be making the condition worse.

“Clinicians should think carefully before prescribing calcium channel blockers and ensure that, in treating one heart condition, they aren’t exacerbating others.”

The beating of the heart is caused by an electrical signal which is generated through calcium entering cells through the channels.

If the calcium channels are reduced, the heartbeat becomes irregular leading to a fall in blood pressure, fainting and, potentially if untreated, to death.

These are the symptoms which can mean a patient needs a cardiac pacemaker fitted but they may be exacerbated by treatment for high blood pressure which blocks the calcium channels.

The researchers say the link between age and loss of calcium channels opens up new possibilities of treating heart conditions.

Co-author of the research Sandra Jones said gene therapy could be used to treat the effects but exercise could also be a factor.

The research is published in the journal of the American Heart Association.

Taken From ; www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk