Effect of anti hypertensive drugs on hand grip strength

Introduction. Hand grip strength is good indicator of overall strength, and when reduced is associated with adverse health consequences. Few studies have described the association betweencommonly prescribed anti hypertensive drugs and muscle strength and hence this study wasdone.Aim To assess handgrip strength in young hypertensive individuals.Materials and methods. Gripstrength was assessed on 100 hypertensive men and women on antihypertensive drugs, agedbetween 30 and 50 years of age attending hypertension clinic at RGGGH, Chennai. People with otherillnesses were excluded. Handgrip strength of patients was measured using handgrip dynamometerduring the two week period in June 2013. Grip strength was measured for 100 age-matched doctorswho were taken as controls. The handgrip strength was compared between the two groups.Statisticalmethods Two sample ttest with Multiple linear regression was used. The drugs used by patientswere Amlodipine, Enalapril and Atenolol. Results. The average handgrip strength for the controlgroup was 60.03 kg and that for patients was 20.8 kg and this reduction was statistically significant (pvalue 0.001).As in control group, mean grip strength of female patients was lesser than that of males(p 0.001). There was significant reduction in handgrip strength in patients taking Atenolol (-blocker)and Enalapril (ACE inhibitor) in addition to those on calcium channel blocker. Grip strength decreasedprogressively with increasing number of medications.Discussion and conclusion. The averagereduction of grip strength associated with anti hypertensive drug used in this study were relevantclinically. These findings may reflect a direct adverse effect of specific drugs or the underlyingprocess of hypertension on muscle function. Findings that men had better handgrip strength thanwomen replicated previous studies. Grip strength is reduced in people taking anti hypertensive drugs.The effects were more marked in patients on Amlodipine alone An Initiative of The Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University University Journal of Medicine and Medical Sciences It is important to identify such changes early, so that alternative anti hypertensive drug can be given to patients with poor hand grip