Is eating healthy to reduce high blood pressure or high cholesterol being neglected?

This study investigated the diets of patients with high blood pressure, dyslipidemia (high levels of 'bad' cholesterol), and who were overweight, to see if they follow heathy eating guidelines in treating their respective disorders. 

High blood pressure, dyslipidemia (high levels of 'bad' cholesterol in the blood) and being overweight, are major risk factors for heart attack and stroke. 

'Bad' cholesterol is found in saturated fats such as beef, butter, eggs, cheese, and fast food. When there is a high level of 'bad' cholesterol in the blood, it starts to build up in the walls of arteries, forming plaques. These plaques narrow the blood vessel, reducing blood flow. High blood pressure, which is when pressure inside blood vessels is too high, can cause the plaque to rupture, triggering formation of a blood clot. A blood clot can travel to an artery that supplies the heart with blood, causing a heart attack, or to the brain, causing a stroke. 

The most important intervention in reducing high blood pressure and dyslipidemia is maintaining a healthy diet and making lifestyle changes. For example, reducing intake of saturated fats can reduce blood cholesterol levels, and consuming less salt and eating more fruit and vegetables can reduce high blood pressure. However, whether patients adhere to healthy eating guidelines as part of treatment is unclear.

This study investigated the diets of people who had high blood pressure and people who had dyslipidemia or who were overweight to see if they adhered to a healthy diet as recommended as part of their treatment. Diets of 'healthy' individuals with normal blood pressure, normal cholesterol levels and who were at a healthy weight were also evaluated. A total of 6,167 people, aged 45-65 years, were included in the study. Daily food and nutrition intake and clinical status (blood pressure and cholesterol level measurements) were recorded regularly over a 7 year period. 

The study found that while people with high blood pressure and high cholesterol succeeded in maintaining a diet lower in fat and energy compared to healthy individuals, people with high blood pressure still have unhealthy eating habits. 

People with high blood pressure were found to drink more alcohol and less milk, eat less fruits and vegetables and yoghurts and therefore did not get enough minerals, and consume more processed meats, compared to people without high blood pressure. 

On the other hand, people with dyslipidemia maintained a healthy diet eating less cheeses, sweets, eggs and appetizers, and overweight individuals ate less bread (carbohydrate) and sweets, and consumed more protein such as yoghurts, vegetables, meats and poultries in comparison to healthy individuals. 

The study concludes that patients with high blood pressure maintain an unhealthy eating pattern that tends to worsen their blood pressure, in contrast to dyslipidemic or overweight patients who adopt more protective diets. This could possibly be due to a lack of awareness and poor perception of high blood pressure and healthy eating guidelines. 

This study was carried out among a French population, so the diets described in this study may largely be due to culture and cannot be generalized for all other cultures and populations. Nevertheless, it highlights that eating a healthy diet is very important in treating high blood pressure and that this message may sometimes be neglected. 

If you or someone you know have high blood pressure, talk to a doctor or dietician about ways you can modify your diet to help keep blood pressure under control.