Sustained decrease of blood pressure in psoriatic patients during treatment at the Dead Sea

The diastolic and systolic blood pressure of 1366 psoriatic patients, treated at the Dead Sea for a period of 4 weeks, was monitored from the day following their arrival. The patients were divided into three categories: (a) psoriatics on antihypertensive medication; (b) psoriatics not receiving antihypertensive medication, but whose initial diastolic blood pressure equaled or exceeded 90 mmHg, and (c) psoriatics with normal blood pressure (diastolic pressure lower than 90 mmHg). A paired t-test revealed that the systolic blood pressure of the two hypertensive groups (a and b) dropped by an average of 22 mmHg, and the diastolic blood pressure dropped by 11 and 16 mmHg, respectively. The drop was evident 2 days after their arrival, and leveled off only after 2 weeks. A similar drop in systolic blood pressure was observed in normotensive psoriatics. On the basis of this study it may be concluded that high blood pressure is not a contraindication for the treatment of psoriasis at the Dead Sea.