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How can I reduce my blood pressure?

January 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Answer: Try eating more garlic.

BMC Cardiovasc Disord. 2008 Jun 16;8:13.

Effect of garlic on blood pressure: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Ried K, Frank OR, Stocks NP, Fakler P, Sullivan T.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Non-pharmacological treatment options for hypertension have the potential to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease at a population level. Animal studies have suggested that garlic reduces blood pressure, but primary studies in humans and non-systematic reviews have reported mixed results. With interest in complementary medicine for hypertension increasing, it is timely to update a systematic review and meta-analysis from 1994 of studies investigating the effect of garlic preparations on blood pressure.

METHODS:

We searched the Medline and Embase databases for studies published between 1955 and October 2007. Randomised controlled trials with true placebo groups, using garlic-only preparations, and reporting mean systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) and standard deviations were included in the meta-analysis. We also conducted subgroup meta-analysis by baseline blood pressure (hypertensive/normotensive), for the first time. Meta-regression analysis was performed to test the associations between blood pressure outcomes and duration of treatment, dosage, and blood pressure at start of treatment.

RESULTS:

Eleven of 25 studies included in the systematic review were suitable for meta-analysis. Meta-analysis of all studies showed a mean decrease of 4.6 +/- 2.8 mm Hg for SBP in the garlic group compared to placebo (n = 10; p = 0.001), while the mean decrease in the hypertensive subgroup was 8.4 +/- 2.8 mm Hg for SBP (n = 4; p < 0.001), and 7.3 +/- 1.5 mm Hg for DBP (n = 3; p < 0.001). Regression analysis revealed a significant association between blood pressure at the start of the intervention and the level of blood pressure reduction (SBP: R = 0.057; p = 0.03; DBP: R = -0.315; p = 0.02).

CONCLUSION:

Our meta-analysis suggests that garlic preparations are superior to placebo in reducing blood pressure in individuals with hypertension.

Read the complete scientific review:

Effect of garlic on blood pressure: A systematic review and meta-analysis



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How can I lower my blood pressure?

January 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Answer: Try staging a multi-pronged lifestyle attack in the problem. Put together a personalized campaign, selecting from  this list of proven blood-pressure reducers:

Eur Heart J. 2011 Dec;32(24):3081-7.

Beyond salt: lifestyle modifications and blood pressure.

Frisoli TM, Schmieder RE, Grodzicki T, Messerli FH.

Abstract

Lifestyle changes have been shown to effect significant blood pressure (BP) reductions.

  • Although there are several proposed neurohormonal links between weight loss and BP, body mass index itself appears to be the most powerful mediator of the weight-BP relationship. There appears to be a mostly linear relationship between weight and BP; as weight is regained, the BP benefit is mostly lost.
  • Physical activity, but more so physical fitness (the physiological benefit obtained from physical activity), has a dose-dependent BP benefit but reaches a plateau at which there is no further benefit. However, even just a modest physical activity can have a meaningful BP effect.
  • A diet rich in fruits and vegetables with low-fat dairy products and low in saturated and total fat (DASH) is independently effective in reducing BP.
  • Of the dietary mineral nutrients, the strongest data exist for increased potassium intake, which reduces BP and stroke risk.
  • Vitamin D is associated with BP benefit, but no causal relationship has been established.
  • Flavonoids such as those found in cocoa and berries may have a modest BP benefit.
  • Neither caffeine nor nicotine has any significant, lasting BP effect.
  • Biofeedback therapies such as those obtained with device-guided breathing have a modest and safe BP benefit; more research is needed before such therapies move beyond those having an adjunctive treatment role.
  • There is a strong, linear relationship between alcohol intake and BP; however, the alcohol effects on BP and coronary heart disease are divergent. The greatest BP benefit seems to be obtained with one drink per day for women and with two per day for men. This benefit is lost or attenuated if the drinking occurs in a binge form or without food.
Overall, the greatest and most sustained BP benefit is obtained when multiple lifestyle interventions are incorporated simultaneously.

My comment: The authors seem to have overlooked the benefits of stopping smoking and of practicing relaxation techniques (including meditation and Yoga) You can include those factors when designing your multi-pronged attack on your high blood pressure problem.

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How can I lower my blood pressure?

January 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Answer 2: Try eating dark chocolate.

BMC Med. 2010 Jun 28;8:39.

Does chocolate reduce blood pressure? A meta-analysis.

Ried K, Sullivan T, Fakler P, Frank OR, Stocks NP.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Dark chocolate and flavanol-rich cocoa products have attracted interest as an alternative treatment option for hypertension, a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Previous meta-analyses concluded that cocoa-rich foods may reduce blood pressure. Recently, several additional trials have been conducted with conflicting results. Our study summarises current evidence on the effect of flavanol-rich cocoa products on blood pressure in hypertensive and normotensive individuals.

METHODS: We searched Medline, Cochrane and international trial registries between 1955 and 2009 for randomised controlled trials investigating the effect of cocoa as food or drink compared with placebo on systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP/DBP) for a minimum duration of 2 weeks. We conducted random effects meta-analysis of all studies fitting the inclusion criteria, as well as subgroup analysis by baseline blood pressure (hypertensive/normotensive). Meta-regression analysis explored the association between type of treatment, dosage, duration or baseline blood pressure and blood pressure outcome. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.

RESULTS: Fifteen trial arms of 13 assessed studies met the inclusion criteria. Pooled meta-analysis of all trials revealed a significant blood pressure-reducing effect of cocoa-chocolate compared with control (mean BP change +/- SE: SBP: -3.2 +/- 1.9 mmHg, P = 0.001; DBP: -2.0 +/- 1.3 mmHg, P = 0.003). However, subgroup meta-analysis was significant only for the hypertensive or prehypertensive subgroups (SBP: -5.0 +/- 3.0 mmHg; P = 0.0009; DBP: -2.7 +/- 2.2 mm Hg, P = 0.01), while BP was not significantly reduced in the normotensive subgroups (SBP: -1.6 +/- 2.3 mmHg, P = 0.17; DBP: -1.3 +/- 1.6 mmHg, P = 0.12). Nine trials used chocolate containing 50% to 70% cocoa compared with white chocolate or other cocoa-free controls, while six trials compared high- with low-flavanol cocoa products. Daily flavanol dosages ranged from 30 mg to 1000 mg in the active treatment groups, and interventions ran for 2 to 18 weeks. Meta-regression analysis found study design and type of control to be borderline significant but possibly indirect predictors for blood pressure outcome.

CONCLUSION: Our meta-analysis suggests that dark chocolate is superior to placebo in reducing systolic hypertension or diastolic prehypertension. Flavanol-rich chocolate did not significantly reduce mean blood pressure below 140 mmHg systolic or 80 mmHg diastolic.

Read the complete article:

Does chocolate reduce blood pressure? A meta-analysis.

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How can I lower my blood pressure?

January 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Answer: Eat less salt–especially if you are overweight and salt-sensitive.

Nat Rev Cardiol. 2010 Oct;7(10):577-84.

Salt, aldosterone, and insulin resistance: impact on the cardiovascular system.

Lastra G, Dhuper S, Johnson MS, Sowers JR.

Abstract

Hypertension and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are powerful risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD), both of which are leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Research into the pathophysiology of CVD and CKD risk factors has identified salt sensitivity and insulin resistance as key elements underlying the relationship between hypertension and T2DM. Excess dietary salt and caloric intake, as commonly found in westernized diets, is linked not only to increased blood pressure, but also to defective insulin sensitivity and impaired glucose homeostasis. In this setting, activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), as well as increased signaling through the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR), result in increased production of reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress, which in turn contribute to insulin resistance and impaired vascular function. In addition, insulin resistance is not limited to classic insulin-sensitive tissues such as skeletal muscle, but it also affects the cardiovascular system, where it participates in the development of CVD and CKD. Current clinical knowledge points towards an impact of salt restriction, RAAS blockade, and MR antagonism on cardiovascular and renal protection, but also on improved insulin sensitivity and glucose homeostasis.

Some interesting extracts from the review paper:

Salt and the cardiovascular system

Early studies have suggested that hypertension is, to a great extent, derived from the inability of the kidney to appropriately handle and excrete sodium in the setting of increased dietary salt intake, as commonly found in westernized diets.4 The average minimum daily requirement of sodium is approximately 400 mg per day; however, the estimated average sodium intake of a typical US citizen ranges from 6 g to 10 g per day.5 More recent epidemiological studies have confirmed a positive correlation between salt intake and elevated blood pressure in up to half of patients with hypertension.6 These effects of salt intake on the systemic blood pressure are observed in white, Hispanic, and African American individuals.7

The randomized, multicenter DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) study8 has provided additional insights into the role of salt intake in hypertension. In a subgroup analysis (DASH-Sodium),9 adherence to the DASH diet, which includes several portions of fruits, vegetables, and low-fat dairy products, as well as reduction of dietary sodium intake (from approximately 150 mmol per day to 100 mmol per day), produced a significant reduction in systolic blood pressure (8.3 mmHg in patients with hypertension versus 5.6 mmHg in normotensive individuals).

Importantly, in some individuals, increased salt intake elicits a substantial rise in blood pressure that is consistent with enhanced blood-pressure sensitivity to salt, a feature known as ‘salt sensitivity’. Conversely, this concept also encompasses the tendency of blood pressure to be substantially reduced by dietary sodium restriction.10 Clinically, salt sensitivity has been defined in normotensive individuals as “a decrease in mean arterial pressure of at least 3 mmHg following the period of dietary salt restriction”.11 Salt sensitivity seems to be multifactorial in origin, and has been linked to factors such as ethnicity, age, levels of sex steroids, dietary patterns, and adiposity.3 Salt sensitivity is also associated with diverse pathological conditions, in particular hypertension, the cardiometabolic syndrome, T2DM, obesity, and CKD.12 Salt sensitivity seems to have a genetic predisposition, which would increase the risk of hypertension in genetically susceptible individuals.13

Salt, obesity, and insulin resistance

Obesity, a leading component of the cardiometabolic syndrome, has been related to salt sensitivity.15 In a study in adolescents, after switching from a 2-week high-salt diet (>250 mmol per day) to a low-salt diet (<30 mmol per day), the mean blood pressure reduction was significantly higher in obese individuals than in their nonobese counterparts (–12 ± 1 mmHg versus +1 mmHg ± 2mm Hg).15 Weight loss resulted in reduced sensitivity of blood pressure (reduced blood-pressure rises) in response to increased salt intake.

Read the complete paper:

Salt, aldosterone, and insulin resistance: impact on the cardiovascular system

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How can I reduce my blood pressure?

October 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Answer: Sign up to receive Heart&Stroke Health eSupport™ (heartandstroke.ca/healthesupport), a free email service that emails users useful tailored healthy lifestyle-change information.

A study evaluated 387 people ranging in age from 45 to 74. All had been diagnosed with high blood pressure and 72 per cent were taking one or more blood pressure medications.

One group received  a standard e-newsletter from the Heart and Stroke Foundation, containing heart health information and general tips to manage their health. The second group received eight e-counselling emails over four months that provided tailored educational and motivational messages.

Participants who received the e-counselling emails recorded approximately double the amount of decrease in blood pressure 12 months later, compared to subjects who received the standard once-only e-newsletter.

Click here to read the Science Daily article

If you’d like to reduce your hypertension and risk factors for stroke and coronary heart disease, click here to sign up to receive your free, tailored e-counselling support today.

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