Background: Cardiovascular (CV) diseases remain a leading global cause of death. Lowering blood pressure (BP) reduces the risk of CV complications, especially stroke and acute coronary events, and it delays the progression of kidney disease. Adequate non-pharmacological treatment improves the effectiveness of the antihypertensive therapy. A Mediterranean diet with high content of vegetables (rich in tomatoes) is associated with a reduced CV risk.
Aim: The main objective of the present study was to assess whether the addition of standardised tomato extract (STE) or acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) to standard antihypertensive therapy can improve BP control in patients with arterial hypertension (HT).
Methods: The study involved 82 high-risk hypertensive patients. Patients with primary HT at high to a very high total CV risk were randomised in a blinded fashion to one of two groups, i.e. the ASA and STE group. The patients had two visits, a baseline visit and one after four weeks of treatment. In all the patients, during each visit, clinical BP and ambulatory BP measurements (ABPM) were performed. Platelet aggregation was determined using the VerifyNow analyser.
Results: After four weeks of treatment in the STE group, there was a statistically significant reduction in 24-h systolic BP, diastolic BP, and mean arterial pressure values measured in ABPM (p < 0.001). After four weeks of treatment in the STE group there was a statistically significant reduction in pulse pressure (PP) during the daytime and during 24 h (p < 0.05). Interestingly, it was found that the use of STE in obese patients significantly decreased the day PP (p < 0.05). After four weeks of treatment in the ASA group there was no statistically significant reduction in BP values measured in ABPM.
Conclusions: The results of this study show that the addition of STE to standard antihypertensive therapy improves BP control in hypertensive patients with high CV risk. This effect, together with the anti-aggregatory effect, may indicate the pleiotropic effect of tomato extract. This fact justifies further research into functional foods and gives new insights into STE as a food supplement that could have new therapeutic and prophylactic uses for the treatment of hypertensive patients with high CV risk and especially with obesity.
Keywords: aspirin; cardiovascular risk; extract of tomato; hypertension.