Under the National Health Survey (ENSANUT 2012), in Mexico there are more than 22.4 million adults 20 years or older with high blood pressure, of which only half have been diagnosed by a doctor. Meanwhile, with diabetes the figure is 6.4 million Mexicans receive treatment.
Diabetes and hypertension increases the risk of cardiovascular problems, since the arteries are more vulnerable to developing atherosclerosis or narrowing it, what damage arising in the lymphatic vessels, heart, kidney failure or heart attacks.
In this regard, a recent article published in the Journal of Internal Medicine of Mexico showed that the use of drugs that combine two different salts in a single tablet to treat high blood pressure and diabetes mellitus can prevent a number of undesirable effects were presented with monotherapies such as pressure control but alter blood sugar and blood lipids.
Co-author of the aforementioned “Metabolic changes caused by combinations of losartan with hydrochlorothiazide or amlodipine in hypertensive patients,” study, internal medicine specialist Alberto Francisco Rubio Guerra, states that research to a group of 60 patients suffering analyzed simultaneously uncontrolled hypertension and obesity are at high risk of developing diabetes.
The research team composed of Mexican doctors randomly divided participants into two groups in order to find the combination of drugs that would control more adequate blood pressure without negatively impacting the levels of glucose or lipids and LDL cholesterol in the blood which is a common disorder among patients with poorly controlled diabetes. It was thus that the population used two therapies: I losartan combined with hydrochlorothiazide, amlodipine losartan against.
Notably, despite knowing that the drug losartan reduces blood pressure by itself does not allow control hypertension long term, it is necessary to combine it with other antihypertensives.
The study published it possible to measure when losartan combined with a diuretic such as hydrochlorothiazide pressure is well controlled but in blood chemistry appears information that is associated with diabetes, such as an increase in glucose and triglycerides in the blood. In contrast, the combination of losartan amlodipine controls hypertension and significantly improves glycemia.
“Once the study is completed showed that the two combinations are equally effective in lowering blood pressure, the combination of losartan with amlodipine achieved better control of glucose (or blood sugar) in these patients, while the losartan group hydrochlorothiazide does not succeed, in fact increases slightly, “explains Rubio Guerra, head of Education and Research Hospital Ticoman General of the Ministry of Health of Mexico City.
The combination of amlodipine and losartan is marketed as Bicartial by the Mexican laboratory Silanes.
According to ENSANUT 2012, in Mexico 33.3 percent of the male population suffers from high blood pressure, and 30.8 percent female; in terms of prevalence, it increases with age: in the group of 50-59 years is 19.8 percent; 60 to 69 years is 20.4 percent and in the group of 70 to 79 years reaches 25.1 percent. In over 80 years, the prevalence was 18.4 percent.
Dr. Jorge Gonzalez Canudas, scientific director of Laboratorios Silanes, reports that hypertensive patients treated with monotherapies tend to increase levels of triglycerides and LDL cholesterol is known as “bad” cholesterol.
” There were several metabolic aspects that are altered with monotherapies and thus began the potential interest in combination therapies, such as losartan – Amlodipine” noted Dr. González Canudas.
