Better blood pressure control after a stroke may reduce risk of falls

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Stroke survivors who take their blood pressure drugs as prescribed may be less likely to have a serious fall than those who don’t follow their medication schedules, according to a study in the January 2023 issue of Hypertension.

Researchers followed 4,067 people who received blood pressure drugs after a stroke. For the first six months, nearly half didn’t take the drugs as prescribed, likely due to a variety of factors, such as health care access problems, forgetfulness, and a fear of falling resulting from medication side effects.

After a year, researchers found that people who took their blood pressure drugs as prescribed were less likely to have been hospitalized for a fall, to have developed serious cardiovascular problems, or to have died in that period, compared with people who didn’t consistently take their medication. It’s important to note, however, that people who take medications faithfully may have other healthy habits that contribute to their better health, says the authors.

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