Last Updated on December 11, 2024
A recent study published in The BMJ showed that aggressive antihypertensive therapy could be harmful to diabetics with high blood pressure. For diabetics with systolic blood pressure lower than 140 mm Hg, participating in antihypertensive treatment could cause cardiovascular complications that lead to death. The research study was completed by a doctor student and doctor at Umeå University in Sweden and was funded by the Västerbotten County Council of Sweden.
The study showed that those undergoing the treatments had a death rate from cardiovascular complications increase of 15%. The study was a meta-analysis from 49 different clinics and used results from over 73,000 patients. In the date, the researchers had randomized trials of antihypertensive therapy with a follow-up appointment after 12 months. Of those randomized therapy patients, at least 100 of them had been diagnosed with diabetes. The average follow-up appointment was around 3.7 years later, and the majority of patients were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Antihypertensive treatments are defined as medications or treatments to treat high blood pressure inside of the body. The medications could be Thiazide, Potassium-sparing, CE inhibitors or more. All of them work differently but are all effective at reducing the risks of hypertension. Aside from medications, a doctor could prescribe several lifestyle changes such as a better diet and exercise to lower blood pressure without using drugs.
The researchers believe there could be several different explanations, but the most likely are that the intensive treatments hinder blood flow to organs that can lead to ischemia. This reduced blood flow, coupled with the arterial stiffening that is common in diabetics could be the leading cause of the cardiovascular deaths.
One of the other possible explanations is that the lower blood pressure can lead to coronary collateral circulation. This would explain both the increase of cardiovascular complications as well as the severity of them, i.e. the increase of deaths related to the difficulties.
The researchers on the study hope that the results will have an impact on the way that physicians look at the treatments for diabetics and those with abnormal blood pressures. There are hopes that international guidelines will be changed because of the data from this study.
The research does come with a few problems. The researchers say that because all of the data was obtained through physicians’ offices, some of the information could be unreliable. While this doesn’t mean the whole study should be discounted, it does put a limitation on how authoritative the study can be held. This is the same issue that many types of research encounters; having to rely on the information from other doctors or nurses.
For anyone diagnosed with diabetes, hypertension is a common and critical condition. These studies are important for anyone with high blood pressure, but especially diabetics. A study in 2008 showed that over 65% of adults over the age of 20 reported that they had blood pressure rates higher than 140/90. The health complications combined with poor blood pressure can create devastating health problems.
For many people making a few healthy choices can have positive effects on their blood pressure and they will never need to have any extra medications. Changing your diet and making better food choices will typically lower your blood pressure to a healthy range. Eating leaner meats instead of fattier meats, using less (or no) table salt, and avoiding processed foods with high sodium content can make a huge impact on your blood pressure levels. Exercising is also recommended to maintain a healthy blood pressure. The American Heart Association recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate activity every week.
The study is important for all doctors and diabetics to be aware of when dealing with hypertension. With all of the health complications that commonly accompany diabetes, treating them can become difficult, but raising the risk of cardiovascular death should seriously be considered before taking any hypertension medications.
