Weight May Affect Blood Pressure Treatment

Whether you’re overweight or not may affect how well a blood pressure drug works for you, a study suggests. Researchers looked at data from a study of more than 11,000 people with high blood pressure. People were randomly divided into 2 groups. Both groups took Lotensin (benazepril). This is a type of blood pressure drug known as an ACE inhibitor. One group also took hydrochlorothiazide, a diuretic. The other group took Norvasc (amlodipine) as their second drug. This drug is known as a calcium channel blocker. Among those taking the diuretic, people whose weight was normal had the worst results. They were 68% more likely to die or have a heart attack or stroke than obese people taking a diuretic. Taking the calcium channel blocker worked better for people of normal weight. They had a 43% lower rate of death, stroke and heart attack than those who took the diuretic.