Take an Aspirin and Go to Bed

According to Everyday Health.com, taking an aspirin at bedtime can help control hypertension.   Dr. Ramon C. Hermida reported Wednesday at the American Society of Hypertension annual meeting, in New Orleans, that his study proves that aspirin can help people who suffer from prehypertension, but only if the aspirin is taken at bedtime.

Prehypertension is defined as blood pressure just below the 140/90 level. Prehypertension is a known to be a warning sign of future risk of heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular problems.

Research was done on 244 individuals with prehypertension over the course of three months.

A third of the group were put on a special diet designed to reduce blood pressure, another third were told to take a 100-milligram aspirin tablet every night at bedtime, and the final third were told to take the same aspirin dose when they awoke in the morning.

Their blood pressure levels were monitored closely and the following results were found: Systolic blood pressure (the first number in a blood pressure reading) dropped 5.4 points and diastolic (the second number) pressure by 3.4 points for those taking aspirin before bedtime. No drop in blood pressure was found in those taking morning aspirin or following the general guidelines.

Dr. Hermida admitted that they aren’t sure why aspirin’s benefits for prehypertension only show up when taken at bedtime.