Blood Pressure Meds: When to Take Them

Results of a five-year study of 2,156 (average age of 56) men and women with high blood pressure have shown that those people who have taken their blood-pressure medications at bedtime fared better than others who took their medications in the morning.

The key here is the importance of sleep-time blood pressure, "the most sensitive predictor of a person's risk of death from cardiovascular disease."

Taking blood pressure medicine at night encourages blood pressure to dip at night--like in healthy people. "This effect of the proper timing for dosing seems to be directly related to the documented reduction in cardiovascular events."

The study proves that researchers and physicians need to reevaluate the way hypertension is diagnosed and treated.

"However, those who now take their pills in the morning should not begin taking them at night without their doctor's knowledge."