Long-term use of blood pressure drugs may lead to kidney damage, study suggests

A new kidney study from the University of Virginia School of Medicine has raised concerns that long-term use of prescription drugs commonly used to treat high blood pressure and heart failure could lead to kidney damage

Patients should continue to take these drugs, which include well-known and widely used ACE inhibitors, the researchers said

"Our study shows that renin-producing cells are responsible for the damage

Causes of kidney damage

Chronic hypertension affects 1 billion people worldwide

They found that special kidney cells called renin cells play an important role

In addition, the researchers found that long-term use of drugs that inhibit the renin-angiotensin system, such as angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers, had a similar effect

The researchers point out that these drugs can save patients' lives, so they stress the importance of continuing to take them

"It is important to conduct prospective, randomized controlled studies to determine the degree of function and tissue damage in patients taking medications to control blood pressure," said Ariel Gomez, MD, of the University of Virginia's Pediatrics and Child Health Research Center

Research results published

The researchers published their findings in the scientific journal JCI Insight