Overweight and hypertensive

Hypertension and obesity frequently coexist in the same patient, with both conditions attracting considerable morbidity. There is also an established correlation between increasing weight and increasing blood pressure.

This article provides an overview of the interaction of these two conditions and provides some recommended strategies for dealing with them when they co-exist.

In dealing with a hypertensive patient whom you consider overweight it is important to establish what their body mass index is, whether they are aware that they are overweight and if they understand the type of problems that may be associated with this. It is also useful to confirm that the patient is in fact hypertensive by checking the way the measurement was taken. Behavioural change is an extremely difficult undertaking and patients need to be ready to change before advice is likely to be heeded. Once a patient is at this stage, having a strategy in which to assist weight loss is more likely to see an effective outcome.