Are antihypertensive drugs proven to cause cancer? Is western medicine lowering blood pressure a “big scam”? is that true?

Hypertension is an irreversible disease, so once diagnosed, high blood pressure requires long-term use of antihypertensive drugs. There are many antihypertensive drugs on the market ,The main effect is by affecting the sympathetic nervous system,renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and endothelin system, which play an important role in the physiological regulation of blood pressure. exert a pressure-lowering effect.

However, there was a saying on the Internet that antihypertensive drugs can cause cancer, and some netizens even said that western medicine Lowering blood pressure is simply a big conspiracy by unscrupulous doctors and western medicine manufacturers. Such a statement not only caused panic among many hypertensive patients, but should they continue to take antihypertensive drugs?

01

Is antihypertensive drug proven to cause cancer?

Many people may have heard of the claim that antihypertensive drugs cause cancer before. A study in Science has attracted much attention.

This study analyzed 61,590 patients in 5 clinical trials and found that the ARB group was more likely to Increased risk of new cancers.

After that, the US FDA issued an announcement stating that it does not recognize the statement that ARB increases the risk of cancer, and also mentioned that patients with high blood pressure have long-term The benefits of applying an ARB far outweigh the potential risks.

There is also an article in the British Medical Journal in 2018 that after comparing with sartan antihypertensive drugs,found that the use of The incidence rate of lung cancer was 14% higher if the antihypertensive drugs of Prix were used for more than 5 years.

However, Liu Zhijun, Chief Physician of Beijing Anzhen Hospital Affiliated to Capital Hospital University, pointed out that this study was not well received at the beginning of its publication More attention and recognition is due to the hype in the media, so there is a risk of “Pulley” carcinogenicity, which caused panic among the public for a while.

The data of this study also pointed out that hypertensive patients eat There will be 1.6 lung cancer patients taking sartan-type antihypertensive drugs in a year with Pulil drugs, and 1.2 lung cancer patients, according to this incidence rate, it is extremely low.

In addition, ACEI drugs have side effects of dry cough. Hypertensive patients who take this type of drug for a long time may have dry cough. At this time, you can go to the hospital for a lung examination as soon as possible, which will naturally increase the detection rate of lung cancer.

In other words, the side effects of taking prix-type antihypertensive drugs such as dry cough will lead to the detection of lung cancer, but there is no clear evidence to prove that There is no causal relationship between taking prix-type antihypertensive drugs and increasing the risk of lung cancer.

And this study did not rule out other factors, such as the living environment and diet of the patient and whether there is a family history of lung cancer Smoking, etc., it is a bit imprecise to draw conclusions based on this survey alone.

In the long run, hypertensive patients taking antihypertensive drugs for a long time can help stabilize blood pressure and avoid cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, which will bring The benefits far outweigh the side effects.

02

Is Western medicine for lowering blood pressure a lie?

Some hypertensive patients have no symptoms even though their blood pressure is high. Drugs are suppressed, so many people think that taking drugs for life has side effects, which is a scam.

There is no clear relationship between the level of blood pressure and the severity of symptoms.The body has gradually adapted to the symptoms of high blood pressure, so the blood pressure will not be particularly obvious when it rises to a certain level, but the state of high blood pressure is already continuously damaging important organs such as the heart, brain, and kidneys.

In fact, generally speaking, the side effects of antihypertensive drugs are generally mild, and the incidence rate is also low. It is reversible. Part of the side effects can be offset by combined medication. Therefore, if you take antihypertensive drugs for a long time, you don’t have to worry too much. You must follow the doctor’s advice and stick to taking the drugs.

03

The three antihypertensive drugs have been eliminated, do not continue to take them

nifedipine

The duration of the drug effect of nifedipine is very short, It is a short-acting antihypertensive drug that needs to be taken multiple times a day, so it is no longer used for first-line treatment, and more nifedipine sustained-release tablets or controlled-release tablets are used.

Reserpine

This antihypertensive drug can stimulate gastric acid secretion in patients.For people with stomach problems, it can cause gastrointestinal bleeding. It is now a clinically banned drug.

Compound Apocynum tablets

This drug has the side effect of unstable heart rate. If it is used for a long time, it will also cause lupus-like skin changes in patients. Now it is no longer used as a first-line drug drug use.

Hypertensive patients take During the medication period, you must follow the doctor’s advice and take the medicine on time. Do not increase or decrease the dosage without permission. If side effects occur, you should seek medical attention and change the medicine as soon as possible. Don’t treat your health like a joke.