Hypertension
Conditions
Keywords
Hypertension, Endothelial dysfunction, Vascular stiffness, Use of one or two antihypertensive drugs
Brief summary
We aimed to identify clinical and vascular parameters of treated hypertensive patients who present beneficial effects of dark chocolate for one-week period on vascular function.
Detailed description
Recent findings indicate an inverse relationship between cardiovascular disease and consumption of flavonoids. We aimed to identify clinical and vascular parameters of treated hypertensive patients who present beneficial effects of dark chocolate for one-week period on vascular function. Twenty-one hypertensive patients in drug therapy, both genders, aged 40-65 years, were included in a prospective study with measurement of blood pressure, brachial flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), peripheral arterial tonometry (EndoPAT) and central hemodynamic parameters by SphygmoCor. After seven days of eating dark chocolate (70% cocoa) 75g/day, the clinical and vascular evaluation were repeated. Patients were divided into two groups according to the response in FMD: responders (increase in FMD, n=12) and non-responders (no improvement in FMD, n=9).
Interventions
DIETARY_SUPPLEMENTDark chocolate
70% cocoa
Sponsors
Rio de Janeiro State Research Supporting Foundation (FAPERJ)
Hospital Universitario Pedro Ernesto
Study design
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
40 Years to 70 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Previous diagnosis of hypertension * Use of one or two antihypertensive drugs * Systolic blood pressure between 130 and 160 mmHg * Diastolic blood pressure between 85 and 100 mmHg
Exclusion criteria
* Secondary hypertension * Diabetes mellitus * Body mass index \> 35kg/m2 * Chronic kidney disease * Known coronary artery disease * Previous stroke
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Endothelial function | One week | Endothelial function evaluated by peripheral arterial tonometry and by flow-mediated dilation of brachial artery |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Blood pressure | One week | Systolic and diastolic blood pressure levels evaluated by an automatic device |
| Central hemodynamic parameters | One week | Aortic systolic blood pressure and pulse pressure evaluated by SphygmoCor. Vascular stiffness parameters such as augmentation pressure and augmentation index will also be evaluated. |
Countries
Brazil
Outcome results
None listed