Lowering Blood Pressure can Help Heart
BALTIMORE (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A new study shows people who make lifestyle changes to lower their blood pressure also reduce their risk of developing heart disease.
Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions studied more than 800 adults with high blood pressure and hypertension. They divided the patients into three groups. The first group received established recommendations for healthy living. The second received the same recommendations and were put on a specific diet. The third was given advice only and used as a comparison group.
The researchers found that both interventions used on the first two groups significantly reduced weight, increased fitness levels, and lowered sodium intake.
The mean reduction in systolic blood pressure was 10.5 mm HG for the group who received only established recommendations and 11.1 mm HG for the group on the special diet. The comparison group reported a 6.6 mm HG decrease. In addition, the prevalence of hypertension dropped from 38 percent to 26 percent in the advice only group, 17 percent in the group receiving recommendations, and 12 percent in the group on the diet.
Researchers say high blood pressure is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Lifestyle modifications that lower blood pressure include weight loss, reduced salt intake, increased physical activity, limited alcohol consumption, and a balanced diet.
If a person's blood pressure exceeds 140/90, he is considered to have hypertension. Almost 50 million adults in the United States have hypertension and about half of adults 60 and over have it.
Lawrence J Appel, M.D., was quoted as saying, "Ultimately population-wide adoption of healthy lifestyles ... should substantially reduce the societal burden of cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases."
SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association, April;289:2083-2093
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