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Published on: May 17, 2024
Hypertension and chronotherapy: shifting the treatment paradigm
1Hypertension Unit, Section of Cardiology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta 30912-3105, USA. mprisant@mail.mcg.edu
Insights
Understanding biologic rhythms is crucial for disease treatment. Recognizing circadian blood pressure patterns can prevent iatrogenic events and optimize hypertension therapy through chronotherapeutics.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular physiology
- Chronobiology
- Pharmacology
Background:
- Current disease treatment relies on homeostasis, neglecting biologic rhythms.
- Biologic rhythms, particularly circadian patterns, influence cardiovascular events.
- Ignoring circadian blood pressure decline can lead to iatrogenic chronopathological events like optic neuropathy and strokes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the importance of biologic rhythms in disease treatment.
- To introduce chronotherapeutics as a method to optimize drug efficacy.
- To propose a paradigm shift in hypertension management.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on biologic rhythms and disease.
- Analysis of the impact of circadian blood pressure variations.
- Definition and application of chronotherapeutics principles.
Main Results:
- Biologic rhythms are integral to physiological processes and disease.
- Failure to account for circadian rhythms can cause adverse health outcomes.
- Chronotherapeutics offers a novel approach to enhance treatment outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Integrating biologic rhythms into treatment strategies is essential.
- Chronotherapeutics holds significant potential for optimizing hypertension management.
- A paradigm shift towards rhythm-based medicine is needed.
Abstract:
The treatment of diseases has been based on the concept of homeostasis and has not incorporated an understanding of biologic rhythms and their underlying mechanisms. Biologic rhythms are implicated in cardiovascular events. Failure to recognize the circadian decline in blood pressure may result in iatrogenic chronopathological events, including anterior ischemic optic neuropathy and cerebrovascular accidents. Chronotherapeutics is the purposeful alteration of drug level to match rhythms to optimize therapeutic outcomes and minimize size effects. For the treatment of hypertension, this idea has the potential for a therapeutic paradigm shift.
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