Diabetics beat alpha blockers in metabolic syndrome

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A comparison shows that, for metabolic syndrome, diuretics are the blood pressure lowering treatment of choice.
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of risk factors, such as high blood pressure and obesity, which increase the likelihood of heart disease. In a new report from the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack (ALLHAT) study, researchers compare two different medications for treating the condition.

Over 13,000 participants were assigned to either chlorthalidone, a diuretic, or doxazosin, an alpha-blocker, to control their blood pressure. After 36 months, those on the diuretic had lower levels of both cholesterol and glucose than those in the alpha blocker group. This backs previous work which showed that diuretics ought to be the first line treatment for those with high blood pressure - especially in black patients, who composed nearly one third of the participants in this trial

Source
Hypertension in Ethnic Populations meeting 26th June 2006

Please take a moment to give us your comments. For questions about Health matters you may check our "Questions & Answers" Portal and Service.