Hypertension News

This section informs healthcare professionals of the latest medical information via daily news articles on hypertension and other related areas.

Recent Headlines

• New Stress-Related Gene Modulates High Blood Pressure In Mice & Men

  Thursday, November 26, 2009
  Does stress increase blood pressure? This simple question has been the focus of intense research for many years. Now new research has for the first time established a link between a novel gene, phosducin, and the blood pressure response to stress in mice as well as humans. The studies were directed by scientists at the University of Freiburg and Muenster in Germany, and the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, in collaboration with other institutions in Europe and Canada.

• Team-Based Care Involving A Pharmacist Improves Blood Pressure Control

  Wednesday, November 25, 2009
  Patients whose hypertension is managed by a physician-pharmacist team have lower blood pressure levels and are more likely to reach goals for blood pressure control than those treated without this collaborative approach, according to a report in the November 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

• Gene Implicated In Stress-Induced High Blood Pressure

  Tuesday, November 24, 2009
  Do stressful situations make your blood pressure rise? If so, your phosducin gene could be to blame according to a team of researchers, at the University of Freiburg, Germany, and the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, that has identified a role for the protein generated by the phosducin gene in modulating blood pressure in response to stress in both mice and humans.

• Transcendental Meditation Reduces Blood Pressure - UK Case Studies Available

  Tuesday, November 24, 2009
  New studies show Transcendental Meditation™ reduces blood pressure in students and almost halves heart attacks - UK case studies available The first randomised controlled trial to demonstrate that a mental technique can reduce blood pressure in at-risk university students -

• FDA Approves Intravenous Formulation Of Pfizer's Revatio(R) (Sildenafil) For The Treatment Of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

  Monday, November 23, 2009
  Pfizer announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Revatio® (sildenafil) Injection, an intravenous formulation of Revatio. Revatio is the only FDA-approved phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5) inhibitor available in both tablet and intravenous formulations. Revatio is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (WHO Group I) to improve exercise ability and delay clinical worsening.

• High Blood Pressure Easy To Miss In Children With Kidney Disease

  Saturday, November 21, 2009
  Spot blood pressure readings in children with chronic kidney disease often fail to detect hypertension even during doctor's office visits increasing a child's risk for serious heart problems, according to research from Johns Hopkins Children's Center and other institutions. A report of the findings appears online in the Journal of American Society of Nephrology.

• Highlights Of NHLBI-Supported Research Presented At American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions

  Thursday, November 19, 2009
  New education strategies for better controlling hypertension and research suggesting a possible link between short-term and long-term exposure to air pollution and increased risk of constricted blood vessels are among the research highlights from studies supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the American Heart Association's 2009 Scientific Sessions in Orlando held Nov. 14-18.

• Increased Obesity Hindering Success At Reducing Heart Disease Risk

  Wednesday, November 18, 2009
  The dramatic increase in overweight and obesity in adult Americans over the past 20 years has undermined public health success at reducing risk for heart disease, according to research presented at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2009. In a new study, researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1988-2006, representing 8,264 adult men and women, 20 to 85 years old.

• At-Risk College Students Reduce HBP, Anxiety, Depression Through Transcendental Meditation

  Wednesday, November 18, 2009
  The Transcendental Meditation technique may be an effective method to reduce blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and anger among at-risk college students, according to a new study to be published in the American Journal of Hypertension, December 2009.

• New Consortium Paves The Way For Improved Treatment Of Hypertension And Associated Vascular Complications

  Wednesday, November 18, 2009
  Top Institute Pharma (TI Pharma) has formed a consortium with Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Erasmus Medical Centre and Maastricht University to define new modalities for the treatment of hypertension (high blood pressure) and associated vascular complications such as heart and kidney failure, myocardial infarction and stroke.

• New Study Heralds Use Of Blood Biomarkers To Predict Preeclampsia

  Wednesday, November 18, 2009
  A new study that examines the value of maternal blood biomarkers will help identify and monitor patients at risk of developing preeclampsia and is set to change the way expectant mothers are cared for in prenatal clinics around the world.

• Cleviprex Results Reported From Study In Patients With Intracerebral Hemorrhage

  Sunday, November 15, 2009
  First reported interim data from the Evaluation of patients with acute hypertension and intracerebral hemorrhage with intravenous clevidipine treatment (ACCELERATE) trial were presented today at the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) 2009 Annual Meeting, showing that Cleviprex (clevidipine butyrate) effectively and safely reduces blood pressure in patients with acute, non-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). According to Dr. Carmelo Graffagnino M.D.

• Doctors' Tests Often Miss High Blood Pressure In Kids With Kidney Disease

  Friday, November 13, 2009
  Many children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who show normal blood pressure readings at the doctor's office have high blood pressure when tested at home, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). The findings indicate that many CKD children are not appropriately treated for hypertension, which puts them at serious risk of developing heart disease.

• Device Enables World's First Voluntary Gorilla Blood Pressure Reading

  Wednesday, November 11, 2009
  Zoo Atlanta recently became the first zoological institution in the world to obtain voluntary blood pressure readings from a gorilla. This groundbreaking stride was made possible by the Gorilla Tough Cuff, a blood pressure reading system devised through partnership with the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech and Emory University.

• Special Issue Of Medical Journal Explores Latino Health And Health Care

  Wednesday, November 11, 2009
  The Latino population is the nation's largest minority group at an estimated 47 million in 2008 and is predicted to make up 30% of the US population by 2050. At the same time, chronic diseases among Latinos are on the rise and require long-range strategies to prevent and clinically manage. Understanding the healthcare of this fastest growing population is critical to the healthcare debate and reform initiatives.

• Key Player Identified In Cascade That Leads To Hypertension-Related Kidney Damage

  Friday, November 6, 2009
  A key player in a cascade that likely begins with stress and leads to high blood pressure and kidney damage has been identified by researchers who say the finding may lead to better ways to control both. Medical College of Georgia researchers have found endothelin, a powerful blood vessel constrictor and inflammatory peptide, increases the number of T cells in the kidneys, which helps recruit other immune cells, causing inflammation and destruction.

• High Blood Pressure And Markers Of Inflammation In Blood More Common In Offspring Of Parents With Alzheimer's Disease

  Wednesday, November 4, 2009
  High blood pressure, evidence of arterial disease and markers of inflammation in the blood in middle age appear more common in individuals whose parents have Alzheimer's disease than in individuals without a parental history of the condition, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

• Researchers Identify The Three Killer Indicators That Are Even Worse Than High Cholesterol

  Wednesday, November 4, 2009
  Researchers at the University of Warwick have identified a particular combination of health problems that can double the risk of heart attack and cause a three-fold increase in the risk of mortality.

• News From The Annals Of Internal Medicine, Nov. 3, 2009

  Tuesday, November 3, 2009
  Early Releases 1. Report Questions Whether Family Health History Disclosure Improves Clinical Decision Making Systematic collection of family history is a potentially important step in personalizing healthcare. Family health history can reveal important information about a patient, and may prompt specialist investigation or positive lifestyle changes.

• Revised Guidelines From ACC/AHA For The Perioperative Use Of Beta Blockers To Minimize Cardiac Risk

  Tuesday, November 3, 2009
  Cardiac complications around the time of noncardiac surgery are relatively common and can be serious.

• A Recipe For Hypertension: High Fructose Corn Syrup

  Saturday, October 31, 2009
  A diet high in fructose increases the risk of developing high blood pressure (hypertension), according to a paper presented at the American Society of Nephrology's 42nd Annual Meeting and Scientific Exposition in San Diego, California. The findings suggest that cutting back on processed foods and beverages that contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) may help prevent hypertension.

• Multicenter Clinical Trial To Test Blood Pressure Strategy

  Saturday, October 31, 2009
  The National Institutes of Health is launching a large multicenter randomized clinical trial to determine whether maintaining blood pressure levels lower than current recommendations further reduces the risk of cardiovascular and kidney diseases, or age-related cognitive decline. Called the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT), the nine-year, $114 million study will be conducted in more than 80 clinical sites across the United States.

• Hypertension Guidelines Reappraised In Light Of New Research

  Friday, October 30, 2009
  A Task Force of the European Society of Hypertension have released the official European guidelines on the management and treatment of hypertension. The guidelines are an update of those published in 2007, and will be published in the November issue of the Journal of Hypertension.

• WHO Identifies Five Major Causes Of Premature Death

  Thursday, October 29, 2009
  Targeting the five major causes of premature death could increase global life expectancy by almost five years, the WHO said Tuesday, Reuters reports. According to a WHO's

• For Some Of Canada's Teens Puberty Is A Gateway To Heart Disease

  Thursday, October 29, 2009
  A seven-year ongoing study examining over 20,000 Canadian grade 9 students shows most already have at least one major risk factor for heart disease and stroke, Dr. Brian McCrindle told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. "This study is further evidence of an accelerating decline in the heart health of Canada's teens," says Dr. McCrindle, a cardiologist at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto.