Diet or diuretic? Treatment of newly diagnosed mild to moderate hypertension in the elderly

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the effectivity of dietary measures in the treatment of hypertension. Therefore, a single-blind randomised clinical trial was carried out in elderly persons with recently diagnosed hypertension. Patients were recruited from a general practice (6555 persons) during visits or after written invitation or invitation by phone. New hypertensive patients (with measurements taken on three different occasions >159 mm Hg systolic and/or >94 mm Hg diastolic), aged 60–80 years, without target-organ damage, dementia, diabetes mellitus or malignant disease entered a 3-month intervention programme of either intensive dietary counselling, receiving a sodium-reduced (<100 mmol/24h), potassium-enriched (>75 mmol/24h), and weight-reducing diet (BMI <25), or only 25 mg chlorthalidone a day. forty-two newly diagnosed hypertensive subjects met the inclusion criteria. two dropped out from the chlorthalidone group, one with side effects and another after a myocardial infarction. although blood pressure (bp) in the diet group decreased less than in the drug group, of the patients in the diet group 45% fell back to a normal systolic and 50% to a normal diastolic bp (drug treatment group, systolic 75% and diastolic 85%). in contrast with the diet group, lipid spectrum and blood glucose concentration in the diuretic group, however, deteriorated slightly. the dietary intervention was effective in elderly patients with a systolic or diastolic bp in the range of 160–180 and 95–100 mm hg, respectively. reduction in weight should be the primary aim. it is argued that sodium reduction can be achieved better by collective measures. in patients with a bp of more than 180 mm hg systolic or 100 mm hg diastolic, dietary advice and drug treatment should be combined.