High Blood Pressure News and Research

Latest High Blood Pressure News and Research

Breathing tobacco smoke increases blood pressure of pre-school children

If you smoke around your children, they could have high blood pressure or be headed in an unhealthy direction before learning their ABC's, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

11 Jan 2011

Regular blood test shows pre-diabetes risk factors, reduces treatment costs

A simpler form of testing individuals with risk factors for diabetes could improve diabetes prevention efforts by substantially increasing the number of individuals who complete testing and learn whether or not they are likely to develop diabetes.

7 Jan 2011

Pros and cons of weight loss surgery in men and women

Women who underwent gastric band surgery to lose weight reported significant improvements in urinary function and quality of life after the operation, according to research published in the January issue of the urology journal BJUI.

6 Jan 2011

Mayo Clinic uses Arctic Front Cardiac CryoAblation Catheter system for treating AF

Mayo Clinic is the first in the U.S. to use the first minimally invasive freezing balloon technology for the treatment of atrial fibrillation approved in December by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The first patient received the treatment Tuesday, Jan. 4.

6 Jan 2011

UC professor receives Fulbright Scholar Award to explore health education efforts in China

The New Year has a University of Cincinnati professor sharing his vast and vital research background on health education in a new location. Randall Cottrell, a UC professor of health promotion and education in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services (CECH), is spending the winter and spring academic quarters at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China.

5 Jan 2011

Increased amounts of MMP-1 enzyme may explain preeclampsia symptoms in pregnant women

Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine researchers have found that a significant increase of an enzyme in the blood vessels of pregnant women with preeclampsia may explain some of the symptoms associated with the condition, including hypertension, swelling and protein in the urine.

5 Jan 2011

New USP standards to improve health literacy, proper medication usage among patients

For the first time, universal standards to guide the content, language, format and appearance of prescription medication labels to reflect how patients read and understand medication instructions are being proposed on a national level.

4 Jan 2011

Team care to help multiple chronic conditions

According to a new study patients with multiple chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus and heart disease are at higher risk of depression that can render medication ineffective. Lead researcher Dr. Wayne J. Katon and colleagues at University of Washington in the study found that patients who received care from nurses who worked with patients and physicians to manage the care for depression and diabetes and heart disease had better outcomes. The study was published in the Dec 30, 2010 issue of New England Journal of Medicine.

2 Jan 2011

Researchers to identify gene variants that cause ischemic stroke

Researchers from the University of Maryland School of Medicine are coordinating an international team of scientists working to identify genes or gene variants that may make a person more likely to have a particular type of stroke called an ischemic stroke.

30 Dec 2010

Experimental device for obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea, a dangerous sleep disorder that affects millions of Americans may have found a cure. The disease commonly manifested as snoring but leading to tremendous sleep deprivation can be severely debilitating. Sleep deprivation may lead to car crashes, accidents, high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and diabetes.

29 Dec 2010

Top weight-loss behaviors

Losing weight and saving money are the top New Year's resolutions expected to vex Americans this year, experts say.

29 Dec 2010

Molecular-level insights into how physical activity influences the heart

Everyone knows that exercise comes with metabolic and cardiovascular benefits, but scientists understand surprisingly little about how physical activity influences the heart itself. Now, a new study in the December 23rd issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication, offers some of the first molecular-level insights.

24 Dec 2010

Scientists tweak gene to mimick heart-strengthening effects of endurance training in sedentary mice

By tweaking a single gene, scientists have mimicked in sedentary mice the heart-strengthening effects of two weeks of endurance training, according to a report from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC).

24 Dec 2010

FDA approves Novartis' Amturnide for treatment of high blood pressure

Today Novartis announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Amturnide (aliskiren, amlodipine and hydrochlorothiazide) tablets for the treatment of high blood pressure. Amturnide combines the only approved direct renin inhibitor worldwide, Tekturna (aliskiren), with the widely used calcium channel blocker amlodipine and the diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ).

23 Dec 2010

State Roundup: New Minn. Gov.'s plans to expand Medicaid could be off to slow start; Ariz. Gov. asks for federal help

Minnesota Gov.-elect Mark Dayton says a nine-month transition to a new Medicaid health care program carries "enormous financial implications" when state finances are already tight (12/20).

21 Dec 2010

FDA moves to curb Avastin's approval for breast cancer

The Food and Drug administration on Thursday revoked its approval of Roche drug Avastin for the treatment of breast cancer. The agency's action, based on findings that did not confirm that the medicine helped patients with this disease, has drawn criticism from patients and politicians.

20 Dec 2010

Health inequalities still exist between England's richest and poorest

Significant health inequalities still exist between the country's richest and poorest according to the latest findings from the biggest annual survey of health in England, The Health Survey for England. The survey, conducted by the National Centre for Social Research and UCL and funded by The NHS Information Centre, shows that people in the lowest income households continue to experience much worse outcomes across key health measures than people in the highest income households.

17 Dec 2010

FDA recommends removal of breast cancer indication from Avastin label

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that the agency is recommending removing the breast cancer indication from the label for Avastin (bevacizumab) because the drug has not been shown to be safe and effective for that use.

17 Dec 2010

FP/TMEM127 gene germline mutations associated with adrenal gland tumors

Analysis has identified variations of a gene that are associated with a type of tumor that forms within the adrenal gland, according a study in the December 15 issue of JAMA. The age group in which these variations were found are frequently excluded from genetic screening models for this type of tumor.

15 Dec 2010

Study links large waistline to increased risk of heart problems and type 2 diabetes

Researchers at Eastern Virginia Medical School’s Strelitz Diabetes Center and the school’s department of physiological sciences have published research showing a strong link between a large waistline and increased risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

14 Dec 2010