HYPERTENSION: LOSE WEIGHT, YES, BUT HOW?

People suffer from high blood pressure. It is known that excess weight is a contributing factor. However, how many pounds does it lose to effectively lower his blood pressure?

Hypertension and cardiovascular risk

The number of people with high blood pressure is particularly high. And  approximately 30% are unaware and are therefore not treated.

Although hypertension is not always diagnosed, Most of people are the main consumers of antihypertensive drugs.

Indeed, this condition should be supported because it greatly increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, like other well-known risk factors: obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol. And we combine the risk factors, the higher the cardiovascular risk increases.

What weight loss can we aim to lower blood pressure?

Going back to the relationship between hypertension and obesity, remember that excess weight increases the risk of hypertension, a condition that directly increases cardiovascular risks.

So it is natural to ask how weight loss influences blood pressure. But also, how much weight should I lose to get interesting decreased blood pressure? If weight loss is part of the treatment of hypertension, what reasonable goal can we aim for?

This issue was explored in a study (Framingham) involving more than 1,000 subjects overweight (BMI over 25). Four years later, the subjects were classified into four groups according to the size of their weight loss (less than 2 kg in 4 years between 2 and 4 kg; between 4 and 7 kg over 7 kg) .

Researchers and find that people who lose more than 7 kg see decrease their risk of hypertension by 21 to 29%. This decrease of 28% in middle-aged subjects (30-49 years), but reached 37% among older people. This reduction in the risk of hypertension is maintained when the weight loss is sustainable over time.

In conclusion, even a small weight loss is beneficial to reduce the risk of hypertension. This weight reduction is in the study of 7 kg or more, in people suffering from obesity.

Note that weight loss should be stable over time. No way to chain successive regimes while aiming a very significant weight loss. To this end, the practice of regular physical activity, even moderate is an interesting help.