ABSTRACT
The Cardiovascular Diseases and Alimentary Comparison (CARDIAC) Study (1) was designed to study the relationship of dietary factors to blood pressure (BP) and other major cardiovascular disease (CVD) in widely different populations of both industralized and developing countries. The primary aim of the research was to test specific hypotheses linking the intake of certain dietary constituents, e.g., sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and protein, to BP (core study). The final aim was to contribute to the scientific information base required to guide the formulation of dietary goals for the primary prevention of CVD. The results of the preliminary analysis of data from Brazil in 57 inhabitants (22 men and 35 women) suggest a nonsignificant statistical correlation of Na intake estimated by urinary Na excretion and diastolic BP (DBP) and systolic BP (SBP) (p greater than 0.05), K intake estimated by urinary K excretion for DBP and SBP (p greater than 0.05), and taurine intake estimated by taurine urinary excretion for DBP and SBP (p greater than 0.05). A positive correlation was found between body mass index (BMI) and BP (p less than 0.01), for both DBP and SBP.
Subject(s)
Cardiovascular Diseases/epidemiology , Diet , Adult , Aged , Blood Pressure , Body Weight , Brazil/epidemiology , Cardiovascular Diseases/physiopathology , Female , Humans , Male , Middle AgedABSTRACT
The effect of nonpharmacological measures--diet (restriction to salt), weight reduction, stress avoidance, stopping smoking, and exercise--are analyzed after being applied to 145 hypertensive individuals (average age 60.3 years) using antihypertensive drugs for 6 months without nonpharmacological therapy. The initial systolic arterial pressure was 177 mm Hg; at the end of 4 weeks of treatment, it was 151.3 mm Hg. The initial diastolic arterial pressure was 98.5 mm Hg; at the end of 4 weeks it was 89.8 mm Hg (p less than 0.001). The proposal for treating hypertension with nonpharmacological measures represents a challenge and opens a new horizon to scientific research.