Research done at The University of Southern Denmark and the Danish Cancer Society and published in December 2017 in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology shows a connection between one of the most common medications for hypertension and skin cancer. The generic name of the drug, a diuretic commoly called a “water pill”,… Continue reading Popular Blood Pressure Medicine, a Diuretic, Is Linked with Increased Risk of Skin Cancer
Category: High blood pressure / hypertension
New Hypertension Guidelines: 8 Tips to Eat, Drink, and Be Merry!
At 481 pages, the new blood pressure guidelines are being discussed a lot, but being read infrequently. Many news reports are simply rehashing the old Puritanical admonition, “Avoid everything pleasurable.” Since that’s not what the research recommends, it’s important to know what’s both real and new in the guidelines—for your health and happiness. Overall, a… Continue reading New Hypertension Guidelines: 8 Tips to Eat, Drink, and Be Merry!
Treating Periodontitis May Help Lower Blood Pressure
Treatment for gum disease, or periodontitis, significantly lowered blood pressure among Chinese patients at risk for developing high blood pressure, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2017 in Anaheim, California in November, a premier global exchange of the latest advances in cardiovascular science for researchers and clinicians. A release… Continue reading Treating Periodontitis May Help Lower Blood Pressure
New Guidelines Expand Definition of High Blood Pressure
Experts are resetting the numbers indicating high blood pressure, and that means that 46 percent of U.S. adults now are identified as having the condition, compared with 32 percent under the previous definition. Those guidelines, released Monday, Nov. 14, by the American Heart Association (AHA), also redefine the condition and provide tactics for doctors to… Continue reading New Guidelines Expand Definition of High Blood Pressure
Intensive Blood Pressure Control for Long-Term Health and Quality of Life
[Editor’s note: An August 9th 2017 release from Trinity College Dublin urged caution regarding aggressively lowering blood pressure in older people, as per the major US SPRINT trial, because of the possibility of the increased the risk of associated falls and blackouts. However, two newer studies discussed in an August 23rd 2017 release from the… Continue reading Intensive Blood Pressure Control for Long-Term Health and Quality of Life
A Neglected Factor in Female Hypertension?
Doctors treating women with high blood pressure should consider measuring their level of aldosterone, a hormone that at high levels damages the cardiovascular system, according to new research. If aldosterone levels are high, they should consider prescribing drugs that directly target the hormone’s receptor, says Dr. Eric Belin de Chantemele, physiologist in the Vascular Biology… Continue reading A Neglected Factor in Female Hypertension?
Home Blood Pressure Devices Often Inaccurate, Research Finds
Although many people rely on home blood pressure monitors, new research has found that 70 percent of the readings for such devices are not accurate. The finding, by investigators from the University of Alberta, was published in The American Journal of Hypertension. According to a news release from the university, the discovery could have serious… Continue reading Home Blood Pressure Devices Often Inaccurate, Research Finds
A New Factor in Hypertension
Research led by scientists at the University of Birmingham, UK, has revealed a new cause of high blood pressure, and the discovery could lead to major changes in managing the disease. High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, often goes unnoticed but if left untreated can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. Studies… Continue reading A New Factor in Hypertension
Automated Blood Pressure Monitoring Reduces Over-Treatment
Previous research suggests as many as one-third of patients who are hypertensive in a clinical setting have white-coat hypertension, a phenomenon in which patients exhibit a blood pressure level above the normal range in a clinical setting but not in other settings, often leading to overtreatment. In research done in 2017 in the Netherlands, researchers… Continue reading Automated Blood Pressure Monitoring Reduces Over-Treatment
New Treatment Target for Blood Pressure
New, more effective treatments for high blood pressure could be possible thanks to the discovery that the nitric oxide that regulates blood pressure is formed in nerves rather than in the walls of blood vessels. The surprising findings, published March 6th 2017 in the journal Hypertension, by researchers at King’s College London follows a world-first… Continue reading New Treatment Target for Blood Pressure
Personalized Treatment for Those in Blood Pressure “Gray Zone”
Using data from a national study, Johns Hopkins researchers determined in 2017 that heart CT scans can help personalize treatment for patients whose blood pressure falls in the “gray zone” of just above normal or mild high blood pressure. A release from Johns Hopkins explains that previously the appropriate blood pressure treatment for these patients… Continue reading Personalized Treatment for Those in Blood Pressure “Gray Zone”
New Guideline for Treatment of Hypertension in Older Adults
The American College of Physicians (ACP) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) have published an evidence-based clinical practice guideline on the appropriate systolic blood pressure target for adults 60 years old and older with hypertension. The joint guideline was published in January 17th 2017 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine and a summary… Continue reading New Guideline for Treatment of Hypertension in Older Adults
A New Factor In High Hypertension among African-Americans
African-Americans have more rigidity of the aorta, the major artery supplying oxygen-rich blood to the body, than Caucasians and Hispanics, according to a new study. That may be a factor in Africcan-Americans’ higher risk of hypertension. Hispanics in the study had an intermediate level of aortic stiffness, greater than Caucasians, but less than that of… Continue reading A New Factor In High Hypertension among African-Americans
White Coat Hypertension May Indicate Risk for Heart Disease in Some Older People
White coat hypertension, in which patients have high blood pressure readings in a medical setting but normal blood pressure outside the doctor’s office, is most likely an innocuous condition that is not a predictor of heart disease or stroke — except in a small group of older patients, according to a study published online October… Continue reading White Coat Hypertension May Indicate Risk for Heart Disease in Some Older People
Acupuncture Lowers Hypertension by Activating Natural Opioids
Researchers with the Univerisity of Calfornia, Irvine Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine have found that regular electroacupunture treatment can lower hypertension (high blood pressure) by increasing the release of a kind of natural opioid in the brainstem region that controls blood pressure. An October 31st 2016 release from the university reports that In tests… Continue reading Acupuncture Lowers Hypertension by Activating Natural Opioids
Driving Diastolic Blood Pressure Too Low Is Linked to Heart Damage
By analyzing medical records gathered over three decades on more than 11,000 Americans participating in a federally funded study, researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine say they have more evidence that driving diastolic blood pressure too low is associated with damage to heart tissue. A release from Johns Hopkins notes that the researchers caution that their… Continue reading Driving Diastolic Blood Pressure Too Low Is Linked to Heart Damage
What You Should Know About Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is probably less well known than cardiovascular disease, but it can be just as deadly. Experts from SeniorHealth, a division of the National Institutes of Health, share what you should know about the illness and how you can help prevent it: Peripheral arterial disease is a disease in which plaque builds… Continue reading What You Should Know About Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)
Diet Soda and Hypertension
Does drinking diet soda raise blood pressure? Despite what you might have heard, the answer is no, according to experts at the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Irvin Cohen, a nephrologist at Mayo in Scottsdale, Arizona, says that there have been several studies on a possible connection between diet soda and hypertension but that none of them… Continue reading Diet Soda and Hypertension