Lead in bones could lead to high blood pressure

The American Heart Association recently announced new guidelines to lower the high blood pressure (or blood pressure) threshold by adding 30 million US adults to the bucket of those with a condition that now affects nearly half of the American adult population.

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The common and dangerous condition is called the "silent killer" as it often causes no symptoms and increases your chances of suffering from heart disease or stroke.

Although there is no identifiable cause of high blood pressure, secondary hypertension is often caused by conditions such as obstructive sleep apnea, kidney problems, thyroid problems, or the use of cocaine or methamphetamine.

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Now, a new study from the University of Michigan's Faculty of Public Health suggests that lead levels in tibia bones could be an unlikely cause, especially in treatment-resistant hypertensive patients.

Resistant hypertension refers to higher blood pressure recommendations, despite treatment with three or more drugs belonging to different classes.

"Laws limiting lead exposure have been in effect for decades, but it has been recognized in recent years that lead remains an environmental toxin still present in us," said the author of the report. study, Sung Kyun Park, in a press release.

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For the study, published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association, Park and colleagues tested the levels of lead in the blood, shins and patella of 475 men with hypertension, all located at the Veterans Affairs Center from Boston. About 97% of men had treatment-resistant hypertension.
After adjusting for race, smoking, age and other factors, scientists found that for every 15 micrograms increase per gram of lead in the glossy bone, the risk treatment-resistant blood pressure was high by 19%.

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While previous research suggested that lead could lead to hypertension, "our study demonstrates that cumulative lead load, measured by cortical bone in the tibia (tibia), may be a risk factor unrecognized for drug-resistant hypertension, "Park said.

According to Medical News Today, cortical bone is the hard outer layer of bone. No statistically significant association was observed with lead in the blood or patella.

However, the study has some limitations, including the fact that treatment-resistant men may have used over-the-counter medications or incorrectly taken their blood pressure medications. The researchers also studied only men, most of whom were white.

Read the full study on ahajournals.org.