More problems with drugs for lower blood pressure
New problems concerning drugs for lower blood pressure are being discovered at an alarming rate. It now appears that beta-blockers, the most common drug for treating hypertension, increase the risk of stroke in older people.
This is ironic because doctors have always claimed that beta-blockers prevent stroke and heart attack. They’ve been widely prescribed for high blood pressure for decades. But now a major study in the U.K. shows that, by slowing the heartbeat, beta-blockers actually increase blood pressure in large arteries near the heart, which can lead to stroke.
Despite the protests of the drug industry, beta-blockers are no longer recommended for hypertension treatment in the U.K. But in many other countries they remain a mainstream treatment.
