Losing a little weight might help avoid drugs to reduce hypertension

Researchers in Italy say losing weight can bring down a person's hypertension; they say even a moderate weight loss can lower high blood pressure to within the normal range.

The researchers at the University of Pavia conducted a study involving a group of overweight but not obese men and women with the first stages of hypertension.

The 220 participants were asked to lose at least 5% of their body weight in 6 months.

Stage 1 hypertension ranges from 140-159 for systolic blood pressure (the first number in a blood pressure reading) and 90-99 for diastolic blood pressure (the second number in a blood pressure reading).

Normal blood pressure is systolic blood pressure of less than 120 and diastolic blood pressure of less than 80.

The researchers led by Dr. Roberto Fogari gave the patients advice on a reduced calorie diet and some also used the weight loss drug Xenical (orlistat).

Each participant had a body mass index (BMI) of 25 to 29.9 kg/m2, and were given an individualised reduced calorie diet.

After a period of 6 months, 59% of the women and 53% of the men in the study had met the weight loss goal of losing at least 5% of their body weight and 52% of those who met the weight loss goal also reduced their blood pressure down to within the normal range.

Dr. Fogari says curbing high blood pressure did not entail a huge weight loss.

Fogari says the study is important because it means that in those patients with elevated blood pressure who were overweight, the blood pressure was not a form of essential hypertension but was hypertension secondary to body weight.

He says the findings only apply to overweight people with high blood pressure, not those who are clinically obese and he stresses the need for overweight patients to be given advice on losing weight before being prescribed drugs to reduce hypertension.

According to the American Heart Association as many as one third of U.S. adults have high blood pressure and many are unaware of it.

The research was presented at the American Heart Association's 61st Annual Fall Conference of the Council for High Blood Pressure Research.