What a rise in blood pressure in the morning means for your heart health

This study examined the rate of rise in blood pressure in patients after waking along with having high blood cholesterol and whether they increase the risk of having a heart attack or stroke. 

Blood pressure in the human body goes up and down naturally depending on the time of day. Generally when a person is asleep they will have lower blood pressure than when they are awake. When a person wakes there is a ‘surge’ in blood pressure. The time it takes for the blood pressure to rise and the magnitude it rises by can predict a patient’s risk of heart attack or stroke.

Studies have found that patients are 3 times more likely to suffer a stroke in the morning then at any other time of the day. The rate of rise (RoR) and fall in morning blood pressure in conjunction with having higher levels of fats (cholesterol) in the blood could put a patient at an even higher risk of cardiovascular events.

In this study researchers examined a method to accurately measure the rate at which blood pressure rises and subsequently falls in the morning. They also examined whether having high levels of blood cholesterol further increases the risk of cardiovascular events.

409 patients were used in this study. Blood pressure was monitored over a 24-hour period. Researchers used a mathematical equation to estimate the rate of rise in blood pressure of the patients when they got up and then the rate of its subsequent fall. Patients were examined again after an average of 1.8 years.

High blood cholesterol was strongly associated with a larger morning ‘surge’. There was a 17.5% increase in risk of morning 'surge' for every 1 mmol/L increase in cholesterol level.

37 patients began statin (cholesterol-lowering) therapy during the time between visits. Statin therapy was associated with a 46% reduction in the strength of the morning 'surge'. 

This study concluded that high cholesterol can increase the magnitude of the morning surge in blood pressure in a patient. This study also concluded that statin therapy appears to decrease this risk.