Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) News and Research

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Hypertension (or high blood pressure) is a condition where the pressure of the blood flowing through the arteries of the body is higher than it should be. Much like the pressure of the air in a tire, if the pressure of the blood is too high it can damage the arteries and organs of the body. Just like the tire, if the pressure suddenly becomes very high, catastrophic events can happen. Similarly, if the pressure remains somewhat elevated for a long enough period of time, premature wear and failure can occur.

Hypertension has its worst effects on the heart, kidneys, eyes, and brain. High blood pressure is a risk factor for heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, hemorrhages of the retina of the eye, and generalized atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries all over the body).

University of California study may shed light on human ability to adapt hypoxia

In an important study that may shed light on human ability to adapt to hypoxia, or inadequate levels of oxygen, researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have proven that the genome of flies exposed to long-term hypoxia are changed to permanently affect gene expression.

24 Jan 2011

Women pregnant after egg donation are high-risk patients

Women who have become pregnant after egg donation should be categorized as high-risk patients. Why that is the case, and which consequences egg donation may have for women is the subject of a review article by Ulrich Pecks and co-authors from the University Hospital Aachen in the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International.

24 Jan 2011

NHLBI, HeartWare award $13.3M to study benefits of heart devices for heart failure

The University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center and the University of Pittsburgh have been awarded $13.3 million to explore the potential benefits of heart devices for the large and growing group of Americans with heart failure.

24 Jan 2011

Brains of migraine sufferers show higher proportion of lesions of brain microvessels

Recent work, in particular the CAMERA study, has used MRI to study the brains of migraine sufferers and has shown that a higher proportion of these patients exhibit lesions of the brain microvessels than the rest of the population.

20 Jan 2011

CJPS Medical Systems to launch VitalPoint Remote Patient Monitor in the U.K.

CJPS Medical Systems are launching into the U.K. market this week their VitalPoint® Remote Patient Monitor, a medical device capable of measuring patients' vital signs from home, allowing secure and direct communication with their caregiver, creating electronic medical records, and transmitting vital signs data.

19 Jan 2011

African American patients who are susceptible to hypertension may benefit from storytelling: New study

Controlling blood pressure is not only a medical challenge, but a social one as well. Because patients are required to strictly adhere to a treatment plan that may include medication, dietary restrictions and regular doctor visits, the ideas of wellness and health are also powerful parts of the social reinforcement needed for behavioral change.

19 Jan 2011

MMA calls for delay in release of Medica's physician rating program

The Minnesota Medical Association has asked Medica to delay the January 19 scheduled public release date of their individual physician rating program, known as the Premium Designation Program.

19 Jan 2011

Forest Laboratories third quarter net sales increase 6.7% to $1,063.9 million

Forest Laboratories, Inc., an international pharmaceutical manufacturer and marketer, announced that reported earnings per share equaled $1.11 in the third quarter of fiscal 2011 after taking a charge for a new product licensing fee of $66.1 million or $0.23 per share, net of tax.

18 Jan 2011

Seordus recieves Japanese patent for SER100

The Norwegian cardiovascular biopharmaceutical company Seordus AS today announced that the Japanese Patent Office has granted a patent for Japan covering Serodus' proprietary product SER100, an ORL-1 receptor agonist, which Serodus intends to develop for patients with isolated systolic hypertension.

18 Jan 2011

Research provides evidence of blood pressure control system in distal nephron of kidney

Today scientists at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio reported how this essential function of the distal nephron is regulated. They demonstrated that sodium handling by the distal nephron is under the control of a local regulatory system.

18 Jan 2011

Painkillers and heart attack risk

A new study has shown that taking certain commonly used painkillers for long periods or in high doses increases the risk of heart attacks or strokes. The study comes from researchers from Bern University and is published in the British Medical Journal.

16 Jan 2011

Research roundup: Racial disparities in cancer and other care, nursing home closures, extending drugmakers' exclusivity

Journal of the National Cancer Institute: Projections Of The Cost Of Cancer Care In The United States: 2010-2020 - "By combining cancer prevalence with average annual costs of cancer care by phase of care and tumor site for 13 cancers in men and 16 cancers in women" and "all cancer sites combined," the authors project there will be just over 18 million cancer survivors in 2020 compared to 13.8 million survivors in 2010.

14 Jan 2011

Johns Hopkins' online tool helps seniors assess risk for dementia

A quick online assessment tool developed by Johns Hopkins researchers can help worried seniors find out if they are at risk of developing dementia and determine whether they should seek a comprehensive, face-to-face diagnosis from a physician, according to a new study.

14 Jan 2011

First Round Table Meeting on Metabolomics & Diabetes takes place in Vienna

Metabolomic biomarker research is a young research area that carries great hopes for both medicine and the nutritional sciences, particularly for the early detection of genetically determined diseases.

14 Jan 2011

Study finds racial disparities in weight-related counseling

When it comes to advising obese patients, blacks receive less weight reduction and exercise counseling from physicians than their white counterparts. This is according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who examined the impact of patient and doctor race concordance on weight-related counseling.

14 Jan 2011

New study finds prevalence of hypertension in older Mexican-Americans

A new study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston reveals that the prevalence of hypertension in older Mexican-Americans living in the Southwest region of the United States has increased slightly in the last decade.

14 Jan 2011

American Heart Association urges public to reduce salt intake

The American Heart Association today issued a call to action for the public, health professionals, the food industry and the government to intensify efforts to reduce the amount of sodium Americans consume daily.

14 Jan 2011

Medtronic acquires Ardian

Medtronic, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of privately-held Ardian, a developer of catheter-based therapies to treat hypertension and related conditions.

13 Jan 2011

Combination therapy initially, best for blood pressure control: ACCELERATE study

A new study published online Jan. 13 in The Lancet shows that patients with high blood pressure respond better to a combination drug therapy than those on monotherapy. Also patients who undergo the two-drug treatment after taking the single-drug therapy also experience better blood pressure outcomes, though not at the same level as those who began with the combination treatment, according to research.

13 Jan 2011

Exposure to room light prior to bedtime suppresses melatonin levels, increases cancer and diabetes risk: Study

According to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, exposure to electrical light between dusk and bedtime strongly suppresses melatonin levels and may impact physiologic processes regulated by melatonin signaling, such as sleepiness, thermoregulation, blood pressure and glucose homeostasis.

13 Jan 2011