By Shola Ogundipe

New research presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2023 suggests that people with high blood pressure while lying flat on their backs have a higher risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure, or premature death.

The study by Harvard Medical School’s Duc M. Giao suggests that measuring blood pressure while lying supine on one’s back may miss cardiovascular disease risk. The researchers analyzed health information from the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, which included 11,369 participants.

The study found that 16  percent of participants who did not have high blood pressure while seated had high blood pressure while lying supine, compared to 74 percent of those with seated high blood pressure who also had supine high blood pressure.

The study highlights the importance of considering body position and blood pressure when assessing cardiovascular disease risk. Participants with high blood pressure while seated and supine had a 1.6 times higher risk of developing coronary heart disease, 1.83 times higher risk of developing heart failure, 1.86 times higher risk of stroke, 1.43 times higher risk of overall premature death, and a 2.18 times higher risk of dying from coronary heart disease.

Differences in blood pressure medication use did not affect these elevated risks in either group.