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TIME: Almanac 1990
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1990 Time Magazine Compact Almanac, The (1991)(Time).iso
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100989
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10098900.029
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1990-09-18
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MEDICINE, Page 103Diuretic DilemmaAre water pills risky?
When a patient has high blood pressure, the first drug most
doctors prescribe is a diuretic. By accelerating the loss of water
and sodium from the body, these medications help lower blood
pressure and thus decrease the risk of stroke, congestive heart
failure and kidney failure. But a Swedish study released last week
provides new evidence that so-called water pills may increase the
danger of diabetes and heart attacks.
Reporting in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers
found that when hypertensive patients were given the popular
diuretic hydrochlorothiazide, their ability to metabolize the sugar
glucose dropped 11% and their blood levels of cholesterol and fats
rose 5% and 15%, respectively. The researchers stress, however,
that there is no proof to date that diuretics have raised the
actual incidence of diabetes or heart attacks.
Nonetheless, the new findings have intensified debate about
whether diuretics should remain a first-line option for treating
high blood pressure. Many doctors support continued widespread use,
arguing that newer, alternative drugs are more expensive and that
their long-term side effects have not been as well established. But
others are pressing for more restricted use of water pills. At the
least, say some, patients who have diabetes probably should not be
taking diuretics.