Blood Pressure News and Research

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Blood Pressure is the force of circulating blood on the walls of the arteries. Blood pressure is taken using two measurements: systolic (measured when the heart beats, when blood pressure is at its highest) and diastolic (measured between heart beats, when blood pressure is at its lowest). Blood pressure is written with the systolic blood pressure first, followed by the diastolic blood pressure (for example 120/80).

Noise-cancelling headphones may reduce pain and anxiety of prostate biopsy

Tuning in to tune out may be just what's needed for men undergoing a prostate biopsy, according to researchers at the Duke Cancer Institute. The Duke team found that noise-cancelling headphones playing a classical melody may reduce the pain and anxiety of the often uncomfortable procedure.

9 Jan 2012

JHM, Healthways partner for innovative weight-loss program

Building on the success of recent Hopkins research showing obese participants were able to lose significant weight and keep it off for two years using telephone coaching and a specially designed website, Johns Hopkins Medicine is collaborating with Healthways to help bring the innovative weight-loss program to many more who could benefit from it.

9 Jan 2012

The sharpness of the brain dulls beyond 45: Study

Researchers from the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health in France and University College London in the UK studied more than 7,000 people over a 10-year period and show the brain's capacity for memory, reasoning and comprehension starts waning in middle age rather than in the 60s.

9 Jan 2012

Middle-aged adults with diabetes have time to learn how to control hypertension

A new study suggests that middle-aged adults recently diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension have time to try to learn how to control their high blood pressure without medications, but not too much time.

9 Jan 2012

Americans cutting costs by skipping prescription drugs

A Consumer Reports survey revealed that more Americans are ignoring their doctor’s advice and skipping prescription drugs or medical procedures to save money in 2011 than a year earlier.

8 Jan 2012

Trail of research that led to discovery of aspirin's role in prevention of first heart attack

Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., DrPH, the first Sir Richard Doll Research Professor as well as first recipient of an endowed chair in the new Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, has published a Citation Classic in the current issue of Clinical Chemistry. Hennekens was the founding principal investigator (PI) of the landmark Physician's Health Study and was the first to demonstrate that aspirin prevents a first heart attack.

7 Jan 2012

Study to determine user experience for several popular functions of My HealtheVet

Although personal health records are now securely accessible online to a large and growing number of individuals, little research has been conducted on opinions about their ease of use.

6 Jan 2012

Repeated episodes of depression contribute to inflammation

An important ongoing debate in the field of psychiatry is whether inflammation in the body is a consequence of or contributor to major depression. A new study in Biological Psychiatry has attempted to resolve the issue.

5 Jan 2012

Home-monitoring interventions may benefit patients with heart failure

Heart failure affects 5.8 million people in the U.S. alone and is responsible for nearly 1 million hospitalizations each year, most resulting from a build-up of body fluid in the lungs and other organs due to the heart's inability to pump effectively. The disease needs to be closely tracked in order to avoid such hospitalizations, and home-monitoring interventions may be especially useful, UCLA researchers say.

4 Jan 2012

Losartan may help prevent smoking-related COPD

Working with mice, scientists at Johns Hopkins have successfully used a commonly prescribed blood pressure medicine, losartan (Cozaar), to prevent almost all of the lung damage caused from two months of exposure to cigarette smoke. The treatment specifically targeted lung tissue breakdown, airway wall thickening, inflammation and lung over-expansion.

4 Jan 2012

Viewpoints: Giving states responsibility for 'essential benefits'; The cost of proton beam treatment; Health spending in 2012

The Obama administration surprised supporters and critics when it decided to let states define the "essential health benefits" that must be provided to their citizens under health care reform. ... Federal health officials will need to monitor developments during the transition period to make sure consumers and employers can easily compare the benefit packages offered by private insurers.

3 Jan 2012

Vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids in blood could stave off dementia: Study

A new study has shown that higher blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D and vitamin E are associated with better mental functioning in the elderly.

3 Jan 2012

Many obese people in denial mode: Survey

According to a new survey only six per cent of overweight people believe they should be described as obese. Three quarters of those with an obese body mass index underestimated their weight category, according to the Yougov poll of 2,065 people.

3 Jan 2012

Issue of NCDs in post-conflict countries must be addressed, say experts

Countries recovering from war are at risk of being left to their own devices in tackling non communicable diseases, leaving an "open door" for exploitation by alcohol, tobacco and food companies, health experts warn.

2 Jan 2012

Four or more coffees reduce risk of womb cancer

According to a new study drinking four or more cups of coffee a day may reduce risk of developing endometrial cancer or womb cancer by almost 25 per cent.

1 Jan 2012

ProStrakan announces FDA approval for Transmucosal Immediate Release Fentanyl REMS Access program

ProStrakan, Inc., a subsidiary of Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co. Ltd., and an international specialty pharmaceutical company, today announces that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the TIRF (Transmucosal Immediate Release Fentanyl) REMS Access program.

31 Dec 2011

Meditation, yoga and physical awareness benefit breast cancer survivors

Women recently diagnosed with breast cancer have higher survival rates than those diagnosed in previous decades, according to the American Cancer Society. However, survivors continue to face health challenges after their treatments end. Previous research reports as many as 50 percent of breast cancer survivors are depressed.

30 Dec 2011

Healthy diet keeps the brain sharp

The study shows that elderly who followed this diet had less of the brain shrinkage linked with Alzheimer's disease and scored better on mental and thinking tests than those with poorer diets. Although previous studies have suggested that a heart-healthy diet is also good for the brain, the new study took a different approach by using blood tests to determine the participant’s diet and nutrient levels.

29 Dec 2011

Avastin fails to live up to expectations for extending survival in ovarian cancer

Cancer drug Avastin has been found to add about four months to the time it takes for the cancer to worsen for women with advanced cases of ovarian cancer says a new report. However it may not extend survival significantly.

29 Dec 2011

Seniors with higher levels of vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids perform better on mental acuity tests

New research has found that elderly people with higher levels of several vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids in their blood had better performance on mental acuity tests and less of the brain shrinkage typical of Alzheimer's disease - while "junk food" diets produced just the opposite result.

29 Dec 2011