Medications Archive

Taking these medications at bedtime rather than in the morning may make them more effective.

Many people take their medications as part of their morning ritual, along with a cup of coffee and the daily newspaper. But for blood pressure drugs, evening may be a better option. Last year, a large study found that taking blood pressure drugs before bed may lower the risk of serious heart-related complications more than taking the drugs in the morning (see "Benefits of bedtime blood pressure dosing").

The concept of chronotherapy, or adjusting medication dosing to a specific time of day, isn't new. There's not a great deal of evidence to support the practice with cardiovascular drugs, but it makes sense, says Dr. Naomi Fisher, director of the Hypertension Specialty Clinic at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Careful planning may help you avoid side effects.

It's always concerning when the doctor says you need a procedure that requires anesthesia. On top of worries about the procedure itself, you may wonder how you'll react to anesthesia, especially now that you're older. The answer is complicated.

Aging changes everyone's basic physiology. Anesthesia introduces some risk, but less so than the risk from underlying health conditions, the surgical procedure itself, and the care you receive after surgery," says Dr. Angela Bader, an anesthesiologist and founding director of the Weiner Center for Preoperative Evaluation at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Report new symptoms immediately if you take one of these.

Taking blood thinners and prescription painkillers such as opioids can have potentially life-threatening complications. But many medications — even over-the-counter drugs — have the potential for dangerous side effects. "In most cases, the risk of serious side effects is very rare — much less than 1% of the time," says Dr. Joshua Gagne, a pharmacist and epidemiologist with Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women's Hospital.

If you're taking any of the following drugs, learn the rare risks.

Research we're watching

If you suffer from migraine headaches, there's a new option available to relieve your pain. In October 2019, the FDA approved lasmiditan (Reyvow) to treat migraine pain in adults. Taken as a pill, it works for migraines either with or without an aura (a visual disturbance within the hour before migraine pain starts). Lasmiditan is not designed to prevent migraines. Lasmiditan is the first migraine treatment in a class of drugs known as serotonin (5-HT) 1F receptor agonists. In studies, researchers found that it could relieve pain and other migraine symptoms within two hours.

Migraines affect an estimated 28 million women in the United States, according to the American Migraine Foundation, and the World Health Organization ranks them among the top 10 disabling conditions. Pain and other symptoms, which may include nausea, sensitivity to light and temporary vision changes, result in lost work days, reduced productivity, and diminished quality of life for many people.

Here are 10 ways to safeguard your life (and health) when an emergency or disaster strikes.

Natural disasters and other kinds of emergencies can strike anywhere and often with little warning. Yet, new data from the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging show that most adults ages 50 to 80 are ill-prepared for severe weather, long-term power outages, or other emergency situations.

"Older adults should take the time to focus on how they will cope and manage with an emergency," says Dr. Howard LeWine, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and editor-in-chief of this newsletter. "A small effort now can protect their health and well-being when an emergency does occur."

Ask the doctors

Q. I know that osteoporosis is linked to hereditary factors that I can't change. But are there things I can do to reduce my risk?

A. It's true that many risk factors for osteoporosis, such as your sex, age, and genes, are not things you can change. But there are things you can do to improve your bone health. This includes adopting a healthy diet that is rich in calcium and getting enough vitamin D, which can help maintain and improve bone health. Regular exercise can also help strengthen your bones or prevent bone loss. In particular, activities that put stress on your bones, such as jumping, running, and weight-bearing exercises, can stimulate bone cells to produce proteins that bolster bone strength. In children, these activities can actually increase bone density. While adults don't gain the same degree of benefit that kids do, exercise can still have moderate effects on bone, helping to maintain strength that might otherwise be lost. To further protect bone health, cut down on unhealthy habits, such as smoking or drinking excess amounts of alcohol. If you have risk factors for osteoporosis, you might also want to talk to your doctor about whether any of your medications might be harming your bone health.

Take the lowest dose of NSAIDs and stop using them as soon as possible.

Blood thinners are usually given to people at risk for developing blood clots from conditions, such as abnormal heart rhythms. Use of these lifesaving medications requires caution with other drugs, especially painkillers called nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen (Advil) or naproxen (Aleve). But plenty of people take the risk to relieve aches and pains. "Many of the patients who need blood thinners are older and therefore at risk for arthritis, so it's not infrequent for a patient to be on both a blood thinner and an NSAID," says cardiologist Dr. Deepak L. Bhatt, a Harvard Medical School professor.

Nonprofit groups offer services that can help you age in place.

 Image: © fstop123/Getty Images

The holidays are a time of giving, but they're also a time to put yourself on the receiving list and assess whether you should be taking advantage of free health-related services offered by nonprofit organizations. Services are widely available, often regardless of income. But you might not know they exist. "Most older adults aren't introduced to support services until they're hospitalized or they work with a case manager or social worker," explains Barbara Moscowitz, a geriatric social worker at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. "You don't have to wait for such an event."

What's available

On the local level, you can often find free or low-cost dental clinics, emotional support groups, meal or grocery delivery services, transportation, in-home health evaluations, exercise classes, health education classes, home evaluations for fall prevention, companion programs, caregiver respite services, or programs to help you navigate difficult chronic health conditions and their treatment.

These drugs are mainstays for preventing heart disease. Are they safe and effective in older people?

Low-dose aspirin and statins are both common, inexpensive drugs that help prevent the two root causes of most heart attacks — blood clots and cholesterol-laden plaque clogging the arteries of the heart. In recent years, a number of studies have helped experts refine their advice as to who should or should not take these medications.

However, evidence-based advice for people in their mid-70s and beyond is a bit harder to come by. Historically, most drug trials have included only a small proportion of people 75 and older, in part because there are fewer people in that age demographic. Also, older people tend to have other chronic health conditions. As such, they may be more prone to drug side effects, making doctors reluctant to enroll them in clinical trials.