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).

What happens when more of your exercise is vigorous instead of moderate?

In a large UK Biobank analysis, a higher proportion of vigorous physical activity relative to total activity volume was associated with lower risks of eight major chronic diseases and all-cause mortality, even after accounting for overall activity volume. Device-based data suggested that activity intensity generally offered greater preventive potential than total volume alone across most outcomes.

31 Mar 2026

Treating autonomic dysfunction can relieve symptoms of treatment-resistant depression

Consider a house with the water main half shut. The faucets sputter. The toilet runs all night. The garden wilts. You could call a plumber for the faucet, a landscaper for the garden, a different plumber for the toilet, and every one of them would fix something while fixing nothing.

31 Mar 2026

Novel MRI technique reveals sleep-driven brain cleansing mechanisms

Sleep helps the brain to cleanse itself – and now this process can be measured in humans entirely non-invasively.

31 Mar 2026

How swapping unhealthy foods can significantly reduce your heart risk

More than half of adults and about 60% of children in the U.S. have unhealthy diets, which can contribute to higher rates of health factors such as high blood pressure and obesity, and lead directly to poor health outcomes including deaths from cardiovascular disease and other chronic conditions, according to the American Heart Association.

31 Mar 2026

Vaping beats traditional tools for quitting smoking

The review indicates nicotine e-cigarettes could surpass traditional quit aids in effectiveness, but lingering safety uncertainties warrant further research.

31 Mar 2026

Measuring heart fat with AI improves cardiovascular risk prediction

Mayo Clinic research identified a powerful new way to improve the prediction of a patient's long-term cardiovascular disease risk by enhancing a routinely performed imaging test with artificial intelligence (AI).

30 Mar 2026

Community health fair promotes cancer awareness and preventive screenings

Ochsner Health welcomed Iberville Parish residents and families on Saturday, March 28 for the Iberville Parish Health Fair & Community Celebration, a no-cost community event focused on cancer awareness and prevention, and access to care close to home.

30 Mar 2026

AI eye exams accurately identify heart disease risk during routine visits

A new system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to assess cardiovascular risk based on images of the eye captured during eye exams demonstrated strong correlation with a standard cardiovascular risk assessment, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26).

30 Mar 2026

Culturally tailored food programs significantly lower blood pressure in minority adults

Black and Hispanic adults with high blood pressure (hypertension) who received a culturally tailored food-based intervention with dietitian coaching experienced a significant drop in blood pressure compared with those who received an equivalent amount of fresh produce without additional supports, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26).

30 Mar 2026

Discontinuing beta-blockers after heart attack found to be safe for low-risk patients

Among stable, relatively low-risk patients who had previously suffered a heart attack, discontinuing beta-blockers after at least one year was found to be non-inferior, or comparable, to continuing beta-blockers in terms of death, another heart attack or hospitalization for heart failure, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session.

30 Mar 2026

New clinical guideline adopts holistic approach to brain and heart health

A new brain–heart clinical practice guideline takes a holistic approach, integrating neurologic and mental health evidence with guidance for cardiovascular disease as many brain and heart conditions overlap and share similar risk factors.

30 Mar 2026

Transcatheter valve-in-valve procedure improves short-term outcomes in high-risk patients

In patients with a poorly functioning bioprosthetic mitral valve in the heart, a minimally invasive procedure to insert a new valve was associated with a lower rate of death or disabling stroke within one year, compared with patients who underwent standard repeat mitral valve replacement surgery, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26).

29 Mar 2026

Minimally invasive valve repair lowers hospitalizations in heart failure patients

At two years of follow-up, patients with a poorly functioning tricuspid valve in the heart who received optimal medical therapy plus a minimally invasive procedure using a clip to repair the valve were significantly less likely to die, have a heart attack or stroke and 40% less likely to be hospitalized for heart failure compared with similar patients who were randomly assigned to optimal medical therapy alone.

29 Mar 2026

New drug sotatercept shows benefit in CpcPH-HFpEF patients

Patients who have heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and high blood pressure in the lungs (pulmonary hypertension) experienced significant improvements in blood pressure and vascular health after taking the drug sotatercept, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26).

29 Mar 2026

Left-ventricular unloading during angioplasty fails to improve patient outcomes

The first randomized trial to compare standard percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also known as coronary angioplasty, with PCI accompanied by the use of a temporary, miniaturized pump to support the heart in patients with both severe coronary heart disease and moderate to severe heart failure found no significant difference between the two approaches.

29 Mar 2026

Novel vFFR method performs similar to invasive coronary assessment

A novel, minimally invasive method of determining whether fatty deposits in a coronary artery are restricting blood flow to a patient's heart performed similarly to the standard, more-invasive procedure in a large multi-country European randomized trial presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26).

29 Mar 2026

AI-based tool matches standard method for coronary blood flow assessment

A novel, minimally invasive computer software-based method that uses artificial intelligence to determine whether plaques in a coronary artery are restricting blood flow to the patient's heart performed similarly to the standard, more invasive wire-based procedure, according to a large international randomized trial presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26).

29 Mar 2026

Angioplasty improves symptoms in chronic total coronary occlusion patients

In what is believed to be the first randomized placebo-controlled trial of its kind, patients with a chronic total blockage of a coronary artery who received a nonsurgical procedure to reopen the artery showed statistically significant reductions in chest pain and improvements in quality of life compared with patients who received a placebo procedure.

29 Mar 2026

Home-delivered DASH diet improves blood pressure and cholesterol outcomes

Black adults with high blood pressure who received dietitian counseling and home deliveries of groceries aligned with the DASH diet—meaning high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, nuts, seeds, legumes and lean proteins—had an average overall reduction in systolic blood pressure of 7 mm Hg at three months overall and a 5 mm Hg reduction compared with participants who received only basic dietary guidance and a grocery stipend, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26).

28 Mar 2026

Investigational drug lowers angiotensinogen but shows unclear blood pressure benefits

The investigational drug tonlamarsen—which is designed to lower blood pressure by reducing the production of angiotensinogen, a protein that turns into the hormone that regulates blood pressure—caused a significant and sustained drop in angiotensinogen but its impact on blood pressure was less clear, according to a study presented at the American College of Cardiology's Annual Scientific Session.

28 Mar 2026