26 Feb Diabetics Need To Find ‘Sweet Spot’ For Blood Pressure Control
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Dr-Mattias-Brunström
Mattias Brunström, MD PhD student
Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine
Umeå University Hospital
Umeå, SE Sweden
Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Dr. Brunström: Current guidelines differ in their recommendations on blood pressure treatment targets for people with diabetes. We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of 49 studies, including almost 74 000 patients, to investigate the effect of treatment at different blood pressure levels. We found that treatment reduced the risk of death, stroke, myocardial infarction and heart failure if systolic blood pressure before treatment was above 140 mm Hg. However, if systolic blood pressure was below 140 mm Hg, treatment increased the risk of cardiovascular death.
Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?
Dr. Brunström: I think the most important message is that antihypertensive treatment is crucial for people with diabetes and a systolic blood pressure above 140 mm Hg.
However, for the minority of people with diabetes and a systolic blood pressure already below 140 mm Hg, additional treatment could do more harm than good.
Medical Research: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?
Dr. Brunström: The mean age in our study was approximately 60 years. But today, many people with diabetes live into their 80s or 90s. I think the next step would be to investigate how age and diabetes duration affect the effect of blood pressure lowering treatment.
Citation:
Effect of antihypertensive treatment at different blood pressure levels in patients with diabetes mellitus: systematic review and meta-analyses.
BMJ 2016; 352 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i717 (Published 25 February 2016)Cite this as: BMJ 2016;352:i71
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Mattias Brunström, MD PhD student (2016). Diabetics Need To Find ‘Sweet Spot’ For Blood Pressure Control
Last Updated on February 26, 2016 by Marie Benz MD FAAD