Interview - Swapnil Hiremath on Blood Pressure

Chris and Jonathan speak to Dr.

Swapnil Hiremath, a hypertension specialist and staff nephrologist at the Ottawa Hospital.

As they discuss high blood pressure and how to treat it, they make their way to a highly contentious clinical trial, the Hygia trial, which allegedly compared two times of day when to take blood pressure medication.

Its results are a little too perfect to be believed. 3:35 What is high blood pressure and what is “essential” hypertension? 8:34 The two numbers of blood pressure 10:45 How antihypertensive drugs work 13:38 How our body metabolizes a drug 17:30 The intense debate over when to take blood pressure medication 21:59 The contentious Hygia trial 32:47 Is the Hygia trial… the Hygia project? 35:02 Considering fraud 41:21 The best time to take medication 44:38 “One simple trick to reduce your risk of heart attacks by 60%!” * Theme music: “Fall of the Ocean Queen“ by Joseph Hackl.

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Links: 1) Swapnil Hiremath on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hswapnil 2) The nephrology journal club: https://www.nephjc.com/ 3) Swapnil Hiremath’s podcast: https://www.nephjc.com/freelyfiltered