The Effect of One-Day Ramadan Fast on Blood Pressure of Hypertensive Patients

BackgroundThe 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, 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. MethodThis 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. ResultThere were no significant changes between any of these variables (P=1.00) in the two measurement periods. ConclusionIt 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).