Blood Pressure Drugs: A Gamble?

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Dr. Elliott said not to worry just yet about blood pressure drugs promoting diabetes. People who should be most concerned are those already at risk. Be cautious if you:

• Have a family history of diabetes
• Are overweight
• Have experienced recent weight gain
• Have a high fasting blood sugar

To avoid diabetes, consider making lifestyle changes. Some risk factors can't be changed, but you can modify your diet and exercise habits to improve your health and prevent diabetes.

"These things are probably more important for most people than deciding what medicine they should or shouldn't be taking for blood pressure," said Dr. Elliott. "Most hypertensive people in the United States are overweight, which is a risk factor for diabetes. You can't change your family members very easily, but you certainly can change your weight."

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.

SOURCE: Ivanhoe interview with William Elliott, M.D., Ph.D., Rush University Medical Center in Chicago; Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2007;396:201-207