A new study from Israel provides us more hints, indirectly, about the EMF and blood pressure connection - since electromagnetic pollution reduces human melatonin levels, and melatonin deficiency is related below to high blood pressure at night, then what does it say about blood pressure at night - in people who are exoposed to EMF-R? Very interesting new study.

Iris Atzmon.


Melatonin reduces night blood pressure in patients with nocturnal hypertension

Am J Med. 2006 Oct;119(10):898-902.

Grossman E, Laudon M, Yalcin R, Zengil H, Peleg E, Sharabi Y, Kamari Y, Shen-Orr Z, Zisapel N.

Department of Internal Medicine D and Hypertension Unit, The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer, affiliated with Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Israel. gross-e(at)zahav.net.il

PURPOSE: Nocturnal hypertension is associated with a high risk of morbidity and mortality. A blunted nocturnal surge in melatonin excretion has been described in nondipping hypertensive patients. We therefore studied the potency of melatonin to reduce nighttime blood pressure (BP) in treated hypertensive patients with nocturnal hypertension.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-eight treated hypertensive patients (22 males, mean age 64+/-11 years) with confirmed nocturnal hypertension (mean nighttime systolic BP >125 mm Hg), according to repeated 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM), were randomized in a double-blind fashion to receive either controlled release (CR)-melatonin 2 mg or placebo 2 hours before bedtime for 4 weeks. A 24-hour ABPM was then performed. RESULTS: Melatonin treatment reduced nocturnal systolic BP significantly from 136+/-9 to 130+/-10 mm Hg (P=.011), and diastolic BP from 72+/-11 to 69+/-9 mm Hg (P=.002), whereas placebo had no effect on nocturnal BP. The reduction in nocturnal systolic BP was significantly greater with melatonin than with placebo (P=.01), and was most prominent between 2:00 AM and 5:00 AM (P=.002).

CONCLUSIONS: Evening CR-melatonin 2 mg treatment for 4 weeks significantly reduced nocturnal systolic BP in patients with nocturnal hypertension. Thus, an addition of melatonin 2 mg at night to stable antihypertensive treatment may improve nocturnal BP control in treated patients with nocturnal hypertension.

Publication Types:

* Randomized Controlled Trial

PMID: 17000226 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=17000226&dopt=Abstract