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Written By: Editorial Team | Published : June 17, 2014 5:52 PM IST
Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that adults over 65 who have recently begun thiazide diuretics are at a greater risk for developing metabolic-related adverse events. More than two-thirds of older adults have high blood pressure in the United States and thiazide diuretics are often recommended as the initial medication for these hypertensive patients. Thiazide diuretics primarily inhibit sodium transport in the kidney, leading to urinary loss of sodium and water, which decreases blood pressure.
While the risks of this medication are well known, the risks are not well quantified in real-world clinical practice, where older adults who are treated may have a number of other illnesses. The national observational study, undertaken by a team of researchers at UT Southwestern and the University of California, San Francisco, examined 1,060 adult veterans with hypertension who recently began taking a thiazide diuretic. The study compared them to a similar group of veterans who were not prescribed a thiazide diuretic. (Read: Tasty recipes to keep BP under control)
During a nine month period, 14 percent of older adults prescribed a thiazide diuretic developed a metabolic adverse event, compared with 6 percent of adults not prescribed a thiazide diuretic. For every 12 adults who were newly prescribed a thiazide diuretic, one developed a metabolic adverse event that he or she would not otherwise have had. The three metabolic adverse events that researchers assessed were hyponatremia (low sodium levels in the blood), hypokalemia (low potassium levels in the blood), and acute kidney injury (a 25 percent decrease in kidney function from the baseline value before the thiazide diuretic was started). (Read: Want to lower your blood pressure? Be happy!)
'Our research quantifies the risks of metabolic adverse events in older adults in real-world, clinical practice shortly after initiating thiazide diuretics,' Dr. Anil Makam, assistant professor of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern and first author of the study said. 'From a clinical point-of-view, the implications of these findings help inform doctors of the risks associated with a common medication and their use in older adults,' her said. The findings are published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. (Read: Controlling blood pressure, exercise key to preventing second stroke)
What are the dangers of uncontrolled BP?
Simply put, uncontrolled high blood pressure (HBP) can injure or kill you. Also known as 'the silent killer', high BP has no symptoms, making it very difficult to gauge how severely the condition is damaging your arteries, heart and other organs.
Here are the possible health consequences that occur over time:
Individuals whose blood pressure is higher than 140/90 mm Hg (140 systolic or 90 diastolic) often become patients treated for serious cardiovascular problems.
What complications can it lead to?
Uncontrolled high blood pressure can lead to:
Heart attacks or stroke: High blood pressure can cause hardening and thickening of the arteries (atherosclerosis), which can lead to a heart attack, stroke or other complications.
Aneurysm: Increased blood pressure can cause your blood vessels to weaken and bulge, forming an aneurysm. If an aneurysm ruptures, it can be life-threatening.
Heart failure: In order to pump blood against the higher pressure in your blood vessels, your heart muscles thicken. Eventually, the thickened muscle may have a hard time pumping enough blood to meet your body's needs, which can lead to heart failure. Read more about Dangers and complications of high and uncontrolled blood pressure
With inputs from ANI
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