Blood Pressure Medications Cause Higher Cancer Risks

A group of blood pressure medications is the cause for a high risk of cancer, claim researchers.

University Hospitals Case Medical Center cardiologists have said that a drug group called angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs) used by millions for high blood pressure, heart failure, cardiovascular risk reduction and diabetic kidney disease patients has "significantly increased risk of new cancer".

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University Hospitals Harrington-McLaughlin Heart and Vascular Institute's Drs. Ilke Sipahi, Daniel I. Simon and James C.

Fang recently completed a meta-analysis of over 60,000 patients randomly assigned to take either an ARB or a control medication.

"We have found the risk of new cancers was increased with these medications by 8-11 percent," Lancet quoted Dr. Ilke Sipahi, associate director of heart failure and transplantation and assistant professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, as saying.

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"Most importantly, risk of lung cancer was increased by 25 percent."

The study doesn't find any such effect in breast cancer patients though.

High Blood Pressure
High blood pressure or hypertension is defined as a blood pressure of above 140 mm Hg (systolic) and or 90mm Hg (diastolic).

"This is the first time an association between ARBs and cancer development is suggested," Dr. Sipahi continued.

"While our findings are robust, they need to be replicated in other studies before they can be considered as definitive."

Blood Pressure Chart
Blood pressure is the pressure of the blood flowing through your blood vessels against the vessel walls. Just by entering you age, you can get the accurate range of blood pressure value.

Their findings are published online today at The Lancet Oncology.

Source-ANI