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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – DALLAS, Dec. 8, 2011 — People with prehypertension had a lower risk of stroke when they took blood pressure-lowering medicines, according to research reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Prehypertension, which affects more than 50 million adults in the
United States, is blood pressure ranging between 120/80 mm Hg and
139/89 mm Hg. Hypertension is 140/90 mm Hg or higher.
“Our study pertains to people with pre-hypertensive blood pressure
levels and shows that the excess risk of stroke associated with these
high-normal readings (top number 120-140) can be altered by taking
blood pressure pills,” said Ilke Sipahi, M.D., lead author of the study
and associate director of Heart Failure and Transplantation at the
Harrington-McLaughlin Heart and Vascular Institute in Cleveland, Ohio.
In a meta-analysis of 16 studies, researchers examined data that
compared anti-hypertensive drugs against placebo in 70,664 people with
average baseline blood pressure levels within the pre-hypertensive
range. The researchers found:
— Patients taking blood pressure-lowering medicines had a 22 percent lower
risk of stroke compared to those taking a placebo. This effect was
observed across all classes of anti-hypertensive drugs studied.
— No significant reduction in the risk of heart attack occurred, but there
was a trend toward lower cardiovascular death in patients taking blood
pressure medications compared to those on placebo.
— To prevent one stroke in the study population, 169 people had to be
treated with a blood pressure-lowering medication for an average 4.3
years.
American Heart Association treatment guidelines call for lifestyle
changes, not medications, to reduce blood pressure in people with
prehypertension. Those lifestyle changes include weight loss, physical
activity, a diet rich in fruit and vegetables and low in salt and fat,
and keeping alcohol consumption moderate (no more than two drinks per
day for men and no more than one drink per day for women).
“We do not think that giving blood pressure medicine instead of
implementing the lifestyle changes is the way to go,” Sipahi said.
“However, the clear-cut reduction in the risk of stroke with blood
pressure pills is important and may be complementary to lifestyle
changes.”
The cost of long-term therapy and the risks associated with blood
pressure medicines need to be discussed extensively within the medical
community before undertaking guideline changes, Sipahi said.
Co-authors are: Aparna Swaminathan, fourth-year medical student;
Viswanath Natesan, M.D.; Sara M. Debanne, Ph.D.; Daniel I. Simon, M.D.;
and James C. Fang, M.D. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.
Statements and conclusions of study authors published in American Heart
Association scientific journals are solely those of the study authors
and do not necessarily reflect the association’s policy or position.
The association makes no representation or guarantee as to their
accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily
from individuals; foundations and corporations (including
pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make
donations and fund specific association programs and events. The
association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from
influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and
device corporations are available at www.heart.org/corporatefunding.
NR11 — 1183 (Stroke/Sipahi)
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