Chocolate Sweetens Fight Against
High Blood
Pressure for Some
By: Karen Kaplan
Los Angeles Times
Presented By:
Dan Pastor
Hypertension
• A condition where the force of blood against the artery
walls is too high.*
• Determined by the amount of resistance to blood flow in
the arteries.
• Blood pressure has 2 parts:
– Systolic (top number)
– Diastolic (bottom number)
• A typical blood pressure is “120 over 80”.
• Measured in mmHg
*http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-blood-pressure/DS00100
Hypertension
• Complications*:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Heart attack or stroke
Aneurysm
Heart failure
Damage to blood vessels in the eyes
Various metabolic problems
Trouble with memory or understanding
Many other conditions
*http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/high-blood-pressure/DS00100/DSECTION=complications
The Study*
• Karin Ried and her colleagues at the University of
Adelaide found that dark chocolate was superior
to a placebo in reducing hypertension.
• Studies lasted from 2 to 18 weeks.
• Participants were given daily doses of chocolate
that ranged from 50% to 70% cocoa.
• Daily doses of flavanol ranged between 30mg and
1000mg.
*Ried
et al. BMC Medicine 2010, 8:39
The Results
• Ried, et al. found that for those with
hypertension and pre-hypertension:
SBP: -5.0 ± 3.0 mmHg; P = 0.0009
DBP: -2.7 ± 2.2 mmHg; P = 0.01
• For those with normal BP, no significant
effects.
HTN Statistics*
• Affects 32% of adults over 20.
• In 2006, 40.5 million ambulatory care visits
with HTN as primary diagnosis (3.6%).
• 23,965 deaths in 2007
• 7.9 per 100,000
*http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/hyprtens.htm
C
Economics
C: Home Good
H: Health
M: Medical Good
X: Non-Medical Good
C = C(X)
Less M, but same H
More C and X
X
H
Y(H) = pX + qM
H2 = H (M2)
From: Zweifel and Breyer,
Dr. Goodman, Lecture #2
H1 = H (M1)
M
Conclusions
• Chocolate did not reduce mean SBP below
140mmHg, or mean DBP below 80mmHg.
• 2 people dropped out of a previous study by
Ried because they found dark chocolate to be
unpalatable.*
• Chocolate is not likely to replace BP meds any
time soon.
*Dark
chocolate or tomato extract for prehypertension: a randomised controlled trial
Ried, et.al BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2009, 9:22