For Cardiovascular Patients, Very Low Blood Pressure May Increase Stroke and Heart Attack Risks
Blood pressure that is way below normal may in fact raise the risk of life-threatening heart attack and stroke for patients with cardiovascular disease, new research suggests.
It has long been known that high blood pressure, which forces the heart to work extra hard to pump blood through the body, can cause deadly heart failure and stroke. But now researchers at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons say very low blood pressure may be just as bad.
According to the new study, blood pressure that is 100 or lower for systolic pressure and 60 or lower for diastolic pressure is dangerous. By comparison, blood pressure of 140/90 or above is considered high, while pressure of 120/80 is considered pre-hypertension.
Too Much of a Good Thing?
“There is a point at which blood pressure lowering becomes counterproductive,” said Franz H. Messerli, one of the researchers behind the study and a director of the hypertension program in the division of cardiology at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital in New York.
While systolic pressure of 120 or 130 is not considered a problem, researchers said once patients drop to 110 or below, they are 3.1 three times more likely to suffer major cardiovascular complications. Patients with diastolic pressure of 60 have a 3.3-fold increased risk of heart attack and stroke, according to the research.
In the study, patients with blood pressure of 140.6/79.8 had the lowest rate of heart attack and stroke.
Some Critics Question Findings
The new research casts doubt over the long-held approach of “the lower the better” in terms of blood pressure, but some critics say the findings don’t hold water. Some cardiologists are calling the research “sketchy” and incomplete work that is need of further research before it can be used to form reliable conclusions.
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