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 *

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 *

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 =  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 per 100,000 *

C HX M C = C(X) H 1 = H (M 1 ) Y(H) = pX + qM H 2 = H (M 2 ) Economics From: Zweifel and Breyer, Dr. Goodman, Lecture #2 C: Home Good H: Health M: Medical Good X: Non-Medical Good Less M, but same H More C and X

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