Background: Hypertension is the most common condition seen in primary care. Despite various researches and evolving medical arts, it is still considered as the biggest single risk factor for deaths worldwide. Objective: To determine whether non-pharmacologic management such as intake of soy milk will be effective as an adjunct in reducing elevated blood pressure among adult patients at the Quezon City General Hospital – Out Patient Department. Methodology: Forty hypertensive patients consulting at the Family Medicine – Out Patient Department for elevated blood pressure satisfying the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study. Design: Open-label, randomized controlled crossover trial Data Collection: The subjects were grouped to non-soy milk and soy milk. Parameters such as blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate were recorded daily then summarized after second and fourth week. A wash out period for 1 week was observed for the soy milk group then a crossover of the arm was done for four weeks. Results: There were no significant differences in reducing Diastolic Blood Pressure (DBP) and Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) observed both at Phase I and Phase II in non-soy milk and soy milk group. Significant reduction in the Systolic Blood Pressure (SBP) and Heart Rate (HR) were observed at Phase II of soy milk group with p-value of 0.018 at week 2 and 0.002 at week 4 respectively. Conclusion This study has shown that patients may benefit from using soymilk as an adjunct to hypertensive medication in lowering blood pressure and heart rate.
Hypertension ; Soy Milk ; Losartan