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Sudden cardiac arrest is a serious and unexpected heart problem that can be life-threatening. It happens when the heart suddenly stops pumping blood properly, causing a person to lose consciousness and stop breathing. If not treated right away, it can lead to death within minutes.
In Europe, sudden cardiac arrest is responsible for about half of all heart-related deaths and one in five natural deaths.
Sometimes, people may feel warning signs before a cardiac arrest, such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, or nausea. However, in many cases, it happens so quickly that there is no time to react.
A recent study by the European Sudden Cardiac Arrest network has raised concerns about a commonly used blood pressure drug called nifedipine. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a common condition where the force of blood against the walls of the arteries is too high, increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.
To manage this, doctors often prescribe medications like nifedipine to help relax blood vessels and lower blood pressure.
Researchers wanted to find out if nifedipine and another similar drug, amlodipine, had any link to sudden cardiac arrest. They examined medical records from 2,503 people who had experienced sudden cardiac arrest and compared them to 10,543 healthy individuals in the Netherlands.
What they found was alarming. People who took a high dose of nifedipine (60 mg per day) appeared to have a higher risk of sudden cardiac arrest. However, amlodipine did not show the same risk.
To confirm their findings, the researchers repeated the study with a much larger group from the Danish Cardiac Arrest Registry, which included 8,101 cardiac arrest patients and 40,505 healthy individuals. Again, they found the same result—high doses of nifedipine were linked to a greater chance of sudden cardiac arrest.
This discovery was surprising because nifedipine and amlodipine have been used for many years, and no major risks like this had been widely reported. One reason this issue may have gone unnoticed in the past is that sudden cardiac arrest happens so quickly, making it difficult to study.
The researchers stress that more studies are needed to confirm these findings and understand why nifedipine might increase the risk of cardiac arrest while amlodipine does not. They advise doctors and patients to be cautious when using high doses of nifedipine until more is known.
This study is an important reminder that even well-known medications can have hidden risks. Ongoing research is crucial to ensuring that treatments remain safe and effective. Patients taking nifedipine should not stop their medication suddenly but should speak with their doctors about any concerns.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and natural coconut sugar could help reduce blood pressure and artery stiffness.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies about How to eat your way to healthy blood pressure and results showing that Modified traditional Chinese cuisine can lower blood pressure.
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