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Recently, a shocking University of Oxford study revealed that millions of people may be suffering from hypertension without even knowing it. The reason - their BP levels spike only at night.
Published in the British Journal of General Practice, the researchers found one in eight people (15 per cent of respondents) between ages 40 and 75 developed a form of undiagnosed hypertension that may get missed during the doctor’s appointment.
Hypertension doesn't have any symptoms, and only some common signs include headache and fatigue. In extreme cases, some also experience severe signs like nosebleeds, vision problems, chest pain and blood in the urine. If left untreated, it can hurt heart health and make one vulnerable to health conditions like heart disease, stroke, heart failure and even death.
The findings show that one in three 'reverse dippers' across all sexes had at least one cardiovascular disease.
The study - conducted on around 21,000 patients from 28 GP practices and four hospitals in the Oxford area - stressed on the need for ambulatory monitoring (devices that can help record electrical activity in the heart). The study looked at 24-hour blood pressure patterns in patients admitted to the hospital, and found that nearly half of these patients have a blood pressure rise at night - termed the reverse-dipper pattern. 'Reverse dippers' are the ones whose BP at night is higher than in the day, when they are up and active.
The other two groups of blood pressure patterns are dippers (for the ones whose BP at night is lower than in the day or healthy young adults, and non-dippers (for whom night and day BP values are the same).
The study's lead author, Professor Lionel Tarassenko, said, "'Daytime blood pressure measurements are not enough. BP follows a cyclical pattern over 24 hours. Normally, it goes down at night during sleep and then rises after waking."
Following a balanced diet, healthy lifestyle and timely medication can help keep hypertension under control.
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