Keeping Seniors Independent
Keeping Seniors Independent
March 14, 2002 -- Treating older women with high blood pressure medications known as ACE inhibitors may do more than keep their blood pressure in check. A new study suggests the drugs may also help preserve muscle strength and prevent disability.
"This is one of the first studies to suggest that a drug treatment could delay a decline in physical function," says study author Graziano Onder, MD, of Wake Forest University, in a news release. "Our results indicate that ACE inhibitor drugs could slow the process that leads to disability."
Other studies have already shown that ACE inhibitors can prevent physical decline in patients with heart failure , but this study found that the drugs also have a protective effect in women with high blood pressure who don't have heart failure.
Researchers found women with high blood pressure who took ACE inhibitors regularly had slower declines in walking speed and muscle strength over a three-year period than those who took other blood pressure drugs or no medications at all. In fact, the average three-year decline in walking speed among those women who used ACE inhibitors was 10 times lower than it was in the other groups.
ACE inhibitors include such prescription drugs as Accupril, Altace, and Vasotec. They help reduce high blood pressure by blocking production of a protein that constricts blood vessels and impairs blood flow.
Researchers think several factors may explain these drugs' beneficial effect on delaying disability: ACE inhibitors increase blood flow to the muscles, reduce inflammation, and promote healthy eating habits and better nutrition by inhibiting a substance known to reduce appetite.
If these findings are confirmed by further research, ACE inhibitors may not only be the primary therapy for controlling high blood pressure in older adults, they may be used to slow physical decline in the elderly, the researchers say.
Keeping Seniors Independent
March 14, 2002 -- Treating older women with high blood pressure medications known as ACE inhibitors may do more than keep their blood pressure in check. A new study suggests the drugs may also help preserve muscle strength and prevent disability.
"This is one of the first studies to suggest that a drug treatment could delay a decline in physical function," says study author Graziano Onder, MD, of Wake Forest University, in a news release. "Our results indicate that ACE inhibitor drugs could slow the process that leads to disability."
Other studies have already shown that ACE inhibitors can prevent physical decline in patients with heart failure , but this study found that the drugs also have a protective effect in women with high blood pressure who don't have heart failure.
Researchers found women with high blood pressure who took ACE inhibitors regularly had slower declines in walking speed and muscle strength over a three-year period than those who took other blood pressure drugs or no medications at all. In fact, the average three-year decline in walking speed among those women who used ACE inhibitors was 10 times lower than it was in the other groups.
ACE inhibitors include such prescription drugs as Accupril, Altace, and Vasotec. They help reduce high blood pressure by blocking production of a protein that constricts blood vessels and impairs blood flow.
Researchers think several factors may explain these drugs' beneficial effect on delaying disability: ACE inhibitors increase blood flow to the muscles, reduce inflammation, and promote healthy eating habits and better nutrition by inhibiting a substance known to reduce appetite.
If these findings are confirmed by further research, ACE inhibitors may not only be the primary therapy for controlling high blood pressure in older adults, they may be used to slow physical decline in the elderly, the researchers say.
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