Lifestyle changes can lead to
10-point drop in blood pressure
For the 30% of
adult Indians who suffer from hypertension,
the best prescription could just be "lifestyle changes''.
In the first randomized, double-blinded trial of an online behavioral
intervention for high blood pressure,
participants reduced their systolic blood pressure (the higher number in a
blood-pressure reading) by 10 mmHg, compared with a 6 mmHg reduction for those
taking part in a web-based control intervention. The
Canadian research was presented at the just concluded American College of Cardiology's
66th annual scientific session in Washington.
A press release sent by the American College of Cardiology quoted the study's lead author Robert P Nolan as saying, "The electronic counseling (e-counseling) intervention had an effect similar to that of adding an additional blood-pressure-lowering medication." The University of Toronto study thus underlines the need for lifestyle counseling intervention to complement medicines taken to reduce high blood pressure.
The trial involved
264 participants aged 57.5 years on average with an average blood pressure of
about 140/90 mmHg. Study participants enrolled through the website of the Heart
and Stroke Association of Canada and were randomly assigned to e-counseling or
a control group. Both groups received emails weekly, but the emails to the
e-counseling group provided links to online multimedia and interactive tools to
increase motivation and skills to begin and sustain a heart-healthy lifestyle.
The emails to the control group linked to generic information about
heart-healthy living and reducing high blood pressure.
After 12 months, in addition to the average reduction of 10 mmHg in systolic blood pressure in the e-counseling group compared with 6 mmHg in the control group, the e-counseling group also saw a statistically significant average reduction of 4 mmHg in pulse pressure compared with 1.5 mmHg in the control group, said the release.
22.03.2017
You cannot escape the
responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today
Abraham-lincoln
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