Bonus From Your Blood Pressure Med: Fewer Fractures?

Bonus From Your Blood Stress Med: Fewer Fractures?

Newest Excessive Blood Stress Information

MONDAY, Nov. 21, 2016 (HealthDay Information) -- Hypertension and weakened bones are two huge well being points for seniors.

Now, new information means that one class of medicine would possibly assist shield towards each.

The research of 1000's of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Medicare sufferers discovered that anti-hypertension meds known as thiazide diuretics additionally appeared to decrease odds of a affected person struggling a hip or pelvic fracture, in contrast with folks on different hypertension medicines.

The discovering made sense to 1 endocrinologist.

"It's well-known that thiazide remedy can decrease calcium excretion into the urine by as a lot as 50 p.c," stated Dr. Caroline Messer, who reviewed the brand new findings.

"This tendency in the direction of a optimistic calcium stability within the physique might [slow] bone loss and cut back fracture danger," defined Messer. She directs the Middle for Pituitary and Neuroendocrine Issues at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York Metropolis.

The research was funded by the U.S. Nationwide Coronary heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and led by Dr. Joshua Barzilay of Kaiser Permanente of Georgia. His workforce tracked information from greater than 22,000 sufferers, averaging 70 years of age.

These VA and Medicare sufferers had all enrolled in a scientific trial that in contrast how several types of blood pressure-lowering medication affected coronary heart illness and coronary heart assault danger. Affected person outcomes had been adopted for a mean of practically 5 years.

The evaluation confirmed that sufferers who took thiazide-type diuretic medication had a 21 p.c decrease danger of hip and pelvic fractures than those that took both lisinopril (from a category of medicine referred to as ACE inhibitors) or amlodipine (from the category of medicine referred to as calcium channel blockers).

The info "strongly advocate use of a thiazide for hypertension remedy along with its lengthy observe file of cardiovascular safety," Barzilay's workforce concluded.

Messer stated that thiazides is probably not the primary selection for each affected person, nevertheless. She defined that "remedy should all the time be individualized," as a result of thiazide diuretics, like all medicines, include their very own dangers. These embody hyponatremia (too little sodium within the blood) and an elevated danger for falls, Messer defined.

Dr. David Friedman is chief of coronary heart failure companies at Northwell Well being Lengthy Island Jewish Valley Stream Hospital in New York. He agreed with Messer that whereas the brand new information look promising for using thiazide diuretics, selections for particular person sufferers "must be weighed in a danger and profit evaluation."

The research was printed on-line Nov. 21 within the journal JAMA Inner Drugs.

-- Robert Preidt

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SOURCES: Caroline Messer, M.D., director, Middle for Pituitary and Neuroendocrine Issues, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York Metropolis; David Friedman, M.D., chief, coronary heart failure companies, Northwell Well being Lengthy Island Jewish Valley Stream Hospital, Valley Stream, N.Y.; JAMA Inner Drugs, information launch, Nov. 21, 2016