Gut bacteria inactivates certain BP medicines leading to resistant hypertension

Among those with high blood pressure, an estimated 20% have what's known as resistant hypertension, meaning their blood pressure remains high despite aggressive treatment. The only way to manage this by doctors in these patients is adding or switching medications and increasing the dose with the hope they can find something that works. Until now, there haven't had any clear indication what the mechanism is for resistant hypertension.

In recent years researchers have more intently examined the link between an individual's blood pressure readings and the unique collection of bacteria that lives in their gut.

However, this is the first study to examine the impact of gut bacteria on blood pressure medication itself. UToledo scientists compared the effectiveness of the antihypertensive drug quinapril with normal gut bacteria against those whose gut microbiota had been depleted by high doses of antibiotics. Researchers found a clear difference between the two, with those who were given antibiotics first responding much better to quinapril.