Researchers have reported a possible explanation for the higher risk of heart disease and its complications among black Americans, along with a way of treating this condition.
Over the course of a three-year investigation, the findings of which were published in the American Heart Association journal, Circulation, researchers found important differences in the way that blood vessel constituents from black Americans produced an essential substance required for normal function, known as nitric oxide. This new study showed a clear link between increased levels of free radicals and lower production of a key substance that regulates blood pressure and preserves vascular health.
The findings also showed that this condition in black Americans could be significantly improved with a new generation beta-blocker known as nebivolol. Nebivolol was able to favorably enhance the levels of nitric oxide while simultaneously reducing oxidative stress, a known factor that damages the heart and blood vessels. The beneficial effects of nebivolol on the blood vessel function complement its beta-blockade properties.
"This is the first evidence that we can favorably enhance a key regulator of blood pressure in vessels from black Americans by stimulating the cells own enzymatic processes," explained investigator Dr. R. Preston Mason, PhD, faculty member and senior research staff scientist at Brigham & Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Mason is also the President of Elucida Research in Beverly, MA. "Treatment of cells in the blood vessels from black Americans with nebivolol had the effect of markedly improving the release of nitric oxide, a promoter of vascular health that also preserves normal blood pressure. Nebivolol also reduced levels of free radicals in the cells."