People with fibromyalgia might actually have one weird advantage: they're less likely to have high blood pressure than the rest of us.
Doctors usually expect chronic pain and stress to drive blood pressure up, but this study found the exact opposite. It suggests that the condition has a unique, counterintuitive effect on the body's cardiovascular system.
Fibromyalgia and Arterial Hypertension in a Population-Based Matched Cohort Study
SSRN · 6555992
Objective:,Fibromyalgia is often linked to adverse metabolic and cardiovascular risk factors. We investigated the relationship between fibromyalgia, blood pressure, and the prevalence of hypertension in a large, population-based matched-cohort.,Methods:,We conducted a retrospective, population-based matched-cohort study using electronic health record data from Leumit Health Services in Israel. Adults with fibromyalgia were matched to controls without fibromyalgia based on age, sex, and ethnicity