Methyldopa reduces blood pressure in people with high blood pressure

Methyldopa is a medication that has been used to treat high blood pressure since the 1960s. While there is some belief methyldopa reduces blood pressure, there are concerns due to the potential for this drug to cause adverse effects. The aim of this review was to determine the extent to which methyldopa reduces blood pressure, the nature of methyldopa's adverse effect profile, and to determine the clinical impact of its use for hypertension.The search revealed 12 trials with a total of 595 patients that were randomized to either a methyldopa treatment arm (296 patients) or a placebo treatment arm (299 patients). The daily doses of methyldopa used in these studies ranged 500-2250 mg daily. The most commonly studied daily dose of methyldopa was 750 mg daily. Most studies followed patients for four to six weeks of therapy. None of the studies reported on the clinical impact of methyldopa (e.g. if methyldopa reduced the risk of having a stroke compared to placebo). Overall reporting of adverse effects was poor so no conclusions can be drawn about the adverse effect profile. This meta-analysis shows that methyldopa reduces systolic/diastolic blood pressure by approximately 13/8 mmHg compared to placebo.