THE EFFECT OF ONE-DAY RAMADAN FAST ON BLOOD PRESSURE OF HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS

Abstract

Background- The month of Ramadan is the ninth lunar month of the Islamic calendar, ‎during which every year millions of Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset. These ‎fasting episodes are associated with changes in sleeping pattern, medication timing, ‎and extra prayers at night, etc. The goal of this work was to evaluate the safety of ‎Ramadan fast with respect to blood pressure for treated hypertensive patients‏.‏‎<br />‎ Method- This study included 21 controlled hypertensive patients on single or twice-‎daily medications; each volunteered to perform 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure ‎monitoring (ABPM) twice: during Ramadan and 2 months after Ramadan during a ‎non-fasting day. Mean average awake/asleep and 24-hour blood pressure, also systolic ‎and diastolic load, dipper vs. non-dipper were compared between the two groups‏.‏ Result- There were no significant changes between any of these variables (P=1.00) in ‎the two measurement periods‏.‏‎<br />‎ Conclusion- It seems that treated hypertensive patients can be safely assured that with ‎the continuation of pervious medication(s), Ramadan fast can be observed without the ‎need for further work up (Iranian Heart Journal 2003; 4 (4):39-43).‎