Hypertension Treatment Options in Patients with Obesity

Which hypertension treatment options should be used as first-line therapy in patients with obesity? A clinician's answer and explanation, here.

What evidence-based strategies and guidelines should clinicians consider when assessing and managing hypertension in patients with obesity?

Is a question Patient Care Online recently asked Jonathan Parker, DO, MS, president of the Alabama Obesity Society in an interview. "We do not have clear obesity-directed hypertension guidelines. We are still going by typical American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association guidelines in terms of treating hypertension," said Dr Parker.

In the video below, Dr Parker discusses common treatments for hypertension—including thiazide diuretics, beta blockers, angiotensin receptor blockers, and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors—and which one he recommends for first-line treatment in patients with obesity.

Dr Parker is also a family and obesity medicine physician at Avalon Medical Group in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.