Effects of angiotensin II receptor blockers on relationships between 24-hour blood pressure, autonomic function, and health-related QOL.

What Was Tested

This randomized controlled trial looks at Losartan in the context of low blood pressure and orthostatic hypotension.

The aim of this study was to determine whether there is a relationship between 24-h blood pressure, autonomic function, and HRQOL during treatment with an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) in patients with hypertension.

Why It Was Studied

The researchers report the relationship between 24-hour (24-h) blood pressure, autonomic function, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in normotensives and hypertensives.

Sympathetic nervous activity (the ratio of low frequency to high frequency component (LF/HF)) and parasympathetic nervous activity (high frequency component (HF)) were calculated by analyzing heart rate variability.

Who Took Part

PubMed indexes the participants as middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a randomized study.

Because people in this Losartan study were split into groups at random, differences between the groups are less likely to reflect who happened to join each one.

HRQOL was assessed using a medical outcome study short-form 36-item health survey (SF-36) questionnaire.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor Blockers, Autonomic Nervous System, Benzimidazoles, Benzoates, Biphenyl Compounds, Blood Pressure and Circadian Rhythm.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a randomized study of Losartan in people with low blood pressure and orthostatic hypotension.

The publication is from 2009 (Clinical and experimental hypertension (New York, N.Y. : 1993)), a journal based in England.

More context: Low blood pressure and orthostatic hypotension research.