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New Study Suggests Link Between Chronic Estrogen Exposure and High Blood Pressure
• Severe Hypertension News • May 26 11
For many years doctors believed the estrogen women consumed in the form of oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) pills was good for their patients?? hearts. Recent studies however have shown that long-term exposure to estrogen can be a danger to women as it has been associated with high blood pressure, a key link to heart- and brain-attacks (strokes). Although the process by which estrogen induces high blood pressure in females is unclear, Michigan State University (MSU) researchers have found that long-term estrogen exposure generates excessive levels of a compound, superoxide, which causes stress in the body. The build-up of this compound occurs in an area of the brain that is crucial to regulating blood pressure, suggesting that chronic estrogen induces a build up of superoxide that in turn causes blood pressure to increase. The study also found that the anti-oxidant resveratrol reverses the increase in both superoxide and blood pressure.
The study is entitled Chronic Estradiol-17?? Exposure Increases Superoxide Production in the Rostral Ventrolateral Medulla (RVLM) and Causes Hypertension: Reversal by Resveratrol.??? It appears in the Articles in PresS section of the American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Physiology, published by the American Physiological Society.
Blood pressure drug shows some muscle
• Severe Hypertension News • May 12 11
Using geriatric mice, a Johns Hopkins research team has shown that losartan, a commonly used blood pressure drug, not only improves regeneration of injured…
Study suggests systemic sclerosis is an independent risk factor for atherosclerosis
• Severe Hypertension News • May 10 11
A new study by researchers in Hong Kong suggests that systemic sclerosis is an independent determinant for moderate to severe coronary calcification or atherosclerosis.…
Most blacks report calling a friend, not 911, when facing the symptoms of a stroke
• Severe Hypertension News • May 06 11
Most African-Americans report calling a friend instead of 911 when faced with the symptoms of a stroke, according to a new study that surveyed…
‘Bad’ Cholesterol Not As Bad As People Think, Shows Texas A&M Study
• Severe Hypertension News • May 06 11
The so-called “bad cholesterol” - low-density lipoprotein commonly called LDL - may not be so bad after all, shows a Texas A&M University study…
Are some blood pressure drugs easier to take?
• Severe Hypertension News • May 02 11
When it comes to treating high blood pressure, people may be more likely to stick with certain types of medication than others, a new…
Vitamin D unlocks racial differences in blood pressure
• Severe Hypertension News • Apr 26 11
New study identifies vitamin D as one of the likely explanations behind differences in blood pressure between Blacks and Whites.
Lower vitamin…
ACC/AHA issue first clinical guidance for controlling high blood pressure in the elderly
• Severe Hypertension News • Apr 26 11
Hypertension is very common among older adults. 64 percent of older men and 78 percent of older women have high blood pressure, placing them at heightened risk for heart disease including heart failure, stroke, coronary artery disease and atrial fibrillation, as well as chronic kidney disease and diabetes mellitus. Despite its prevalence, rates of blood pressure control remain substantially lower in the elderly than in younger patients. In fact, over age 80, only one in three men and one in four women have adequate control of their blood pressure. Faced with an aging patient population and compelling data that confirm the benefits of blood pressure-lowering medications in the elderly (??80 years), the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA) today released the first expert consensus document to help clinicians reduce the risks for developing and effectively manage hypertension in older adults.
“Adequate control of high blood pressure in the elderly can significantly reduce cardiovascular events and mortality, and is much more cost-effective than treating heart problems that result from uncontrolled hypertension,” said Wilbert S. Aronow, M.D., clinical professor of medicine at New York Medical College/Westchester Medical Center and one of the chairs of the ACC/AHA writing committee. “The real concern is that a majority of elderly people have suboptimal control of their blood pressure and - until recently - many clinicians didn’t treat hypertension in octogenarians because they worried that doing so would increase mortality.”
Moreover, most hypertension trials had upper age limits or failed to present age-specific results. But in 2008, results from the Hypertension in the Very Elderly Trial (HYVET) - the largest clinical trial in very elderly patients with hypertension to date - began to shift this thinking. According to Dr. Aronow, this was the first study to show clear benefits for using anti-hypertensive therapy in people 80 years and older, including a 30 percent reduction in stroke, 23 percent reduction in cardiac death, 64 percent reduction in heart failure and 21 percent reduction in all-cause mortality.
Some heart surgery patients skip statin therapy
• Severe Hypertension News • Apr 25 11
Heart disease patients who undergo surgery may be less likely to stick with their cholesterol medication than those treated with drugs alone, a new…
No evidence coffee ups risk of high blood pressure
• Severe Hypertension News • Apr 22 11
Despite earlier concerns, downing lots of coffee doesn’t seem to increase the risk of high blood pressure, according to a new report—but the evidence…
New Study Identifies Possible Cause of Salt-Induced Hypertension
• Severe Hypertension News • Apr 19 11
New research from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and Kent State University shows that salt intake raises blood pressure because it makes it harder for the cardiovascular system to simultaneously juggle the regulation of blood pressure and body temperature.
For decades, medical researchers have sought to understand how salt causes salt-induced high blood pressure to no avail. Some individuals, described as ???salt sensitive,??? experience an increase in blood pressure following the ingestion of salt, whereas others, termed ???salt resistant,??? do not. Until now, scientists have been unable to explain why some individuals are salt sensitive and others are salt resistant. This inability to explain why salt raises blood pressure in some individuals but not others has hampered the development of a comprehensive theory as to what causes most cases of high blood pressure.
Since the cardiovascular system is responsible for maintaining normal blood pressure and also helps control body temperature by conducting heat from the muscles and internal organs to the skin??s surface, a team of researchers led by Robert P. Blankfield, MD, MS, clinical professor of family medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and a member of the Department of Family Medicine at University Hospitals Case Medical Center and Ellen L. Glickman, PhD, professor of exercise science at Kent State University, tested whether these dual roles of the cardiovascular system might help explain how salt ingestion leads to salt-sensitive hypertension.
Device Drops Blood Pressure in Patients With Difficult-to-Treat Hypertension
• Severe Hypertension News • Apr 05 11
A device designed to treat people with resistant hypertension helped lower blood pressure by 33 points, a substantial drop that would otherwise require patients to take an additional three or four drugs, on top of this subgroup??s usual regimen of up to five drugs, to control their difficult-to-treat condition.
The device, called the Rheos? System, was tested in a pivotal Phase III study presented today as a late-breaking clinical trial at the American College of Cardiology??s Annual Scientific Sessions. It is the first device to be tested in a large-scale clinical trial for the treatment of hypertension and works by activating the body??s natural blood flow regulation mechanism to reduce high blood pressure.
Though the therapy led to a considerable drop in blood pressure and had a good safety profile, it did not meet all of the study goals. Another, more focused trial testing the device is needed before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will consider approving the treatment, according to physicians who led the study.
Yoga halves irregular-heartbeat episodes: study
• Severe Hypertension News • Apr 04 11
Yoga, already proven to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, can cut in half the risk of a common and potentially dangerous irregular…
One in Four U.S. Adults Had High Blood Pressure in 2008
• Severe Hypertension News • Mar 07 11
More than 59 million Americans age 18 and older were diagnosed with high blood pressure in 2008, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
AHRQ also found that in 2008:
??? Three-quarters of people diagnosed with high blood pressure were overweight, obese, or morbidly obese. Roughly 15 percent of healthy weight adults were diagnosed with high blood pressure.
??? Adults who exercised vigorously for 30 minutes or more at least three times a week were one-third less likely than those who didn??t to have reported having high blood pressure (21 percent versus 32 percent, respectively).
BP meds may help some people without high BP: study
• Severe Hypertension News • Mar 02 11
A thorough look at the medical evidence suggests people who’ve had a stroke or a heart attack might benefit from taking blood pressure medications,…
Sugar-sweetened drinks associated with higher blood pressure
• Severe Hypertension News • Mar 01 11
Soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages such as fruit drinks are associated with higher blood pressure levels in adults, researchers report in Hypertension: Journal of…
How education can save your life
• Severe Hypertension News • Feb 28 11
It is known that education decreases the incidence of cardiovascular disease. New research published in BioMed Central’s open access journal BMC Public Health demonstrates…
High Cholesterol and Blood Pressure in Middle Age Tied to Early Memory Problems
• Severe Hypertension News • Feb 22 11
Middle-age men and women who have cardiovascular issues, such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure, may not only be at risk for heart disease, but for an increased risk of developing early cognitive and memory problems as well. That??s according to a study released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology??s 63rd Annual Meeting in Honolulu April 9 to April 16, 2011.
For the study, 3,486 men and 1,341 women with an average age of 55 underwent cognitive tests three times over 10 years. The tests measured reasoning, memory, fluency and vocabulary. Participants received a Framingham risk score that is used to predict 10-year risk of a cardiovascular event. It is based on age, sex, HDL cholesterol, total cholesterol, systolic blood pressure and whether they smoked or had diabetes.
The study found people who had higher cardiovascular risk were more likely to have lower cognitive function and a faster rate of overall cognitive decline compared to those with the lowest risk of heart disease. A 10-percent higher cardiovascular risk was associated with poorer cognitive test scores in all areas except reasoning for men and fluency for women. For example, a 10 percent higher cardiovascular risk was associated with a 2.8 percent lower score in the test of memory for men and a 7.1 percent lower score in the memory test for women.
Americans Don’t Do Enough to Cut Hypertension, Cholesterol
• Severe Hypertension News • Feb 10 11
The CDC says in a new report that about two-thirds of adults in the U.S. who have high cholesterol levels and about half who…
Hypertension care could be changed by renal denervation
• Severe Hypertension News • Feb 10 11
It remains unclear whether renal denervation will effectively change the way hypertension is treated in everyday clinical practice.
Catheter-based sympathectomy for hypertension may be suitable for people who have resistant hypertension, who may be on three or even four medications and are still not achieving control. This therapy denervates the kidneys and it has been shown to bring about a sizable reduction in blood pressure in the follow-up period of a year to 18 months.
The results of the Symplicity study (Prof Esler Murray et al) have generated great interest, and the investigators may have paved the way for interventional management of patients with resistant hypertension. ???The Symplicity trial studied people with resistant hypertension,??? said Prof Edward Johns, Head of UCC??s Department of Physiology.
Time for hypertension to face the music
• Severe Hypertension News • Feb 10 11
Diabetes, hypertension or insomnia comes free with stress. And, no one can boast of staying clear of it. But there is a way out…
“The Five Things Every American Needs to Do to Lower Their Cholesterol” Revealed
• Severe Hypertension News • Feb 08 11
An estimated 102 million Americans have cholesterol levels that are considered borderline high-risk1. This staggering fact makes lowering cholesterol one of the most imperative…
Blood pressure meds tied to lower cancer risk
• Severe Hypertension News • Feb 04 11
Doctors in Taiwan have found that people who take a common type of blood pressure drug appear less likely to develop cancer than patients…
Deep Brain Stimulation May Help Hard-to-Control High Blood Pressure
• Severe Hypertension News • Jan 25 11
Researchers were surprised to discover what may be a potential new treatment for difficult-to-control high blood pressure, according to a case report published in the January 25, 2011, print issue of Neurology?, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
The report involved one man who received a deep brain stimulator to treat his pain from central pain syndrome that developed after a stroke. Deep brain stimulation uses a surgical implant similar to a cardiac pacemaker to send electrical pulses to the brain.
The 55-year-old man was diagnosed with high blood pressure at the time of the stroke, and his blood pressure remained high even though he was taking four drugs to control it.
High blood pressure combination pill ‘better than one’
• Severe Hypertension News • Jan 20 11
A combination of drugs is better than a single one in treating high blood pressure, a UK study has suggested.
The study…
