Could it really be this easy?

If you take blood pressure medication (and a lot of people do, or should) a new study find that taking them at night instead of morning cuts your risk of cardiac events in half, including death. Normally we like to provide information on absolute rather than relative risk, so here it is:

Commenting on the findings, Tim Chico, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Sheffield, UK, said, “The results are impressive. From the 19 084 people who took part and were randomised to taking their tablets at either bedtime or morning, just over 9% suffered a heart problem over the 6.4 years of the study. Of these, by my calculations, around 1131 patients were taking their tablets in the morning, but only around 623 patients taking their tablets at bedtime suffered the same problems.”

That adds up to 6% vs. 3% dying, and comparable reductions in other bad stuff including heart failure, stroke and non-fatal heart attacks. And it costs absolutely nothing. I've always taken my pills in the morning because I found it easier to remember, but I'm going to make the change right away because what the hell, it's worth it.

I should point out the, what should I call it? Social psychology of this. In terms of its actual effect on health and longevity, it is literally one of the greatest medical breakthroughs in recent years. I mean, cutting the 6 1/2 year risk of death from AMI in half, among people at high risk -- it isn't smallpox vaccination or penicillin, but it's huge. And it costs absolutely nothing. But it's gotten almost no attention. I had to read a medical journal to find out about it. If somebody came up with a new pill that did the same thing it would be huge news, but this is just an instruction about how to take old, generic pills so it isn't news, apparently.

Anyway, you read it here, probably first. (By the way statins are more effective if taken at night as well. So you might as well change your whole routine.)