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Carrying
a few extra pounds may not be such a bad thing if you're an
older person with high blood pressure, according to a study
in the June issue of the American Journal of Hypertension.
Researchers
at King Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles found that that
overweight people with hypertension seem to do better than
their leaner counterparts.
The relationship
between body mass index (BMI) and pulse pressure was examined
in 624 men and 568 women with isolated systolic hypertension.
Pulse
pressure is the difference between systolic blood pressure
and diastolic blood pressure, while body mass index takes
into account a person's weight and height to gauge total body
fat. A body mass index of 25 or more is considered overweight.
The researchers
found pulse pressure in lean people with a BMI of less than
25 to be an average of 79mm Hg, while those in the overweight
category with a BMI of 25 or more had an average BMI of 74
mm Hg. They noted that pulse pressure continues to decrease
as BMI increases up to a level of 30.1.
"The
pulse pressure results from our study seem to suggest that
the optimal weight for longevity may be higher in older persons
with isolated systolic hypertension," the researchers
said, noting that older patients over a wider range of body
mass index need to be studied to better define the level at
which obesity assumes morbid and prognostic significance.
Source:
Hypertension
Week of June 23, 2002
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