[ad_1]
New series of studies clarifies whether there really is a health risk for hypertension patients taking certain antihypertensive drugs
A new summary i studyn which is published in Function refutes claims about the dangers of amlodipinea substance widely used in prescription drugs to treat it hypertension.
Amlodipine is a calcium ion entry blocker (slow calcium channel blocker or calcium ion antagonist) and blocks the entry of calcium ions across the cell membrane into cardiac cells and smooth muscle fibers.
Simply put, amlodipine works by blocking a type of calcium channel found in blood vessels. When the channel opens, calcium enters the muscle, causing it to contract, causing blood pressure to rise. Amlodipine blocks the entry of calcium, leading to relaxation of blood vessels and lowering of blood pressure. Recently, some researchers have questioned the benefit of amlodipine cfor the treatment of hypertension and expressed concern about the findings of studies that wanted amlodipine to activate a different type of calcium channel, causing changes in blood vessels and increasing heart failure in patients.
It is estimated that approx 1 in 5 adults worldwide suffers from hypertension, to which 7.6 million deaths per year are attributed. If not treated early, hypertension greatly increases the risk of early death through heart attack, stroke, or kidney disease. Given that amlodipine is a widely prescribed drug for the treatment of hypertension, which is now taken very regularly by millions of people, its removal from the pharmaceutical market would have significant public health implications.
A new study carried out by research teams from the National Institutes of Health and the University of Glasgow finds that taking amlodipine is unlikely to lead to an increase in heart failure in patients. The researchers found that amlodipine does appear to have chemical properties that make the drug mimic the activation of calcium channels without actually opening the channels. A meta-analysis combining clinical trials and a real-world prospective analysis showed that amlodipine was not associated with increased heart failure or other cardiovascular problems.
“Removing amlodipine as a first-line treatment would likely dramatically increase deaths from hypertension,” said Anant Parekh, one of the study’s authors, adding that “the study recommends that amlodipine remains a first-line treatment for high blood pressure ยป.