SCIENCE / MEDICINE : Blood-Pressure Treatment Doubted
New findings do not support a widely held belief that potassium supplements can play a role in controlling high blood pressure, researchers reported last week. A Minnesota research team said its two-year study found no evidence that supplements of potassium, a metallic element essential for control of the nerves and muscles, can keep some men with high blood pressure from needing medication.
“The question of whether potassium chloride can be used as a non-drug treatment for hypertension has been a hot topic,” said Dr. Richard Grimm Jr., the team leader. “From what we found, it cannot.”
In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Grimm’s team divided 287 men who had been taking medicine for high blood pressure for at least four years into two groups. All were placed on low-salt diets, but 142 were given relatively large daily doses of potassium while 145 received no extra potassium.
After 12 weeks, the men, who ranged in age from 45 to 68, were removed from their medication. Their progress was charted for the next 28 months.
By the end of the study, Grimm said, no significant difference was found in blood-pressure levels between the two groups. In each group, 79 men eventually had to resume medication.
