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).

Researchers create new family of fluorescent probes called hydrocyanines to detect reactive oxygen species in vivo

Researchers have created a new family of fluorescent probes called hydrocyanines that can be used to detect and measure the presence of reactive oxygen species.

15 Dec 2008

Interruptions in Medicaid coverage associated with a higher rate of hospitalization

Interruptions in Medicaid coverage are associated with a higher rate of hospitalization for conditions that can often be treated in an ambulatory care setting, including asthma, diabetes, and hypertension, according to a new study in today's issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

15 Dec 2008

Psoriasis sufferers more likely to have higher levels of leptin

Patients with the skin disease psoriasis appear more likely to have higher levels of leptin (a hormone produced by fat cells that may contribute to obesity and other metabolic abnormalities) than persons without psoriasis, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Dermatology.

15 Dec 2008

3.6 million Americans living with active, undiagnosed psoriasis, unaware of associated risks

Armed with research concluding that psoriasis is associated with an increased risk of heart attacks and other cardiovascular conditions, Joel M. Gelfand, MD, MSCE, Assistant Professor of Dermatology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and colleagues released an editorial consensus in the American Journal of Cardiology today¸ calling for psoriasis patients to be educated about and screened for cardiovascular risk factors.

15 Dec 2008

New research provides a clinical picture of obstructive sleep apnea from over six million hospital admissions

Research in the current issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine is the first to show the full clinical picture of comorbid conditions associated with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), quantify their frequency of occurrence and reveal their possible interrelationships.

15 Dec 2008

Changes in medical terminology confuses patients

The label used to identify a disease - whether it is common language or medical terminology - can influence how serious people think the condition is, according to new research from McMaster University, the second part of a larger study on how people understand and interpret disease.

8 Dec 2008

Rituxan in combination with chemo improves survival in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Genentech, Inc. and Biogen Idec have announced that two global Phase III studies in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), CLL8 and REACH, showed Rituxan (rituximab) plus chemotherapy significantly increased the time patients lived without their disease advancing, as defined by the primary endpoint of progression-free survival (PFS), when compared to chemotherapy alone.

8 Dec 2008

ACE inhibitor calcium channel blocker combo drug shown to reduces heart attacks

While doctors are urged to start with a diuretic-based strategy to control patients' high blood pressure, an international blood pressure study shows a different single-pill drug combination is more effective at preventing heart-related events such as heart attacks and strokes.

3 Dec 2008

Childhood obesity may change thyroid

In addition to its strong associations with hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, pediatric obesity may induce alterations in thyroid function and structure, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

3 Dec 2008

WHO says governments must do more to improve access to essential medicines

An alarming lack of availability of essential medicines in the public sector drives patients to pay higher prices in the private sector or go without, according to a WHO study reported in the online edition of The Lancet. The results confirm that governments must do more to improve access to essential medicines as part of their efforts to make national health systems more efficient and equitable.

2 Dec 2008

Exposure to folic acid antagonists during pregnancy has risks

Exposure to folic acid antagonists during pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of placenta-mediated adverse outcomes such as preeclampsia, placental abruption, fetal growth restriction or fetal death reports a retrospective cohort study published in CMAJ.

1 Dec 2008

Vitamin D deficiency could lead to heart problems

Vitamin D deficiency - which is traditionally associated with bone and muscle weakness - may also increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

1 Dec 2008

Coronary CTA is a low cost, non-invasive alternative for evaluating coronary artery disease

Coronary CTA offers a low cost, non-invasive alternative to conventional angiography for evaluating patients who are suspected of having coronary artery disease; true even if the patients have calcified coronary artery plaques, according to a study performed at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA.

1 Dec 2008

Diet may regulate obesity health risks, but genes decide, says new research

The risk of obese people developing the metabolic syndrome that leads to diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease, can not be solved by a one-size-fits-all diet programme, according to new scientific findings.

1 Dec 2008

Follow up results from first case of pulmonary hypertension treated with stem cells

Dr. Leonel Fernandez Liriano, Professor of Medicine at Pontifical Catholic University School of Medicine (PCUSM), announced nine month follow up results for the first patient treated with engineered stem cells in a clinical study of primary pulmonary hypertension.

25 Nov 2008

Potassium loss from blood pressure drugs increases diabetes risk by 50%

According to researchers in the U.S. the loss of potassium experienced from taking blood pressure drugs may explain higher risk of adult diabetes.

25 Nov 2008

USPTO confirms validity of Bystolic patent

Forest Laboratories, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") has closed prosecution on the merits of the reexamination proceedings for the patent for Bystolic and confirmed the validity of all of the previously granted claims.

24 Nov 2008

Potassium loss caused by diuretics may explain higher risk of adult diabetes

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that a drop in blood potassium levels caused by diuretics commonly prescribed for high blood pressure could be the reason why people on those drugs are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

24 Nov 2008

Blood pressure readings taken at medical office do not appear to predict future heart risks

Continuously measuring blood pressure may help predict heart disease and related deaths among individuals with treatment-resistant hypertension, while blood pressure readings taken in a medical office do not appear to predict future heart risks, according to a report in November 24 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

24 Nov 2008

Mechanisms of cardiovascular disease and cancer give clues to new therapies

Cardiovascular conditions leading to heart attacks and strokes are treated quite separately from common cancers of the prostate, breast or lung, but now turn out to involve some of the same critical mechanisms at the molecular level.

21 Nov 2008

Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) News and Research

Further Reading

Researchers create new family of fluorescent probes called hydrocyanines to detect reactive oxygen species in vivo

Interruptions in Medicaid coverage associated with a higher rate of hospitalization

Psoriasis sufferers more likely to have higher levels of leptin

3.6 million Americans living with active, undiagnosed psoriasis, unaware of associated risks

New research provides a clinical picture of obstructive sleep apnea from over six million hospital admissions

Changes in medical terminology confuses patients

Rituxan in combination with chemo improves survival in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

ACE inhibitor calcium channel blocker combo drug shown to reduces heart attacks

Childhood obesity may change thyroid

WHO says governments must do more to improve access to essential medicines

Exposure to folic acid antagonists during pregnancy has risks

Vitamin D deficiency could lead to heart problems

Coronary CTA is a low cost, non-invasive alternative for evaluating coronary artery disease

Diet may regulate obesity health risks, but genes decide, says new research

Follow up results from first case of pulmonary hypertension treated with stem cells

Potassium loss from blood pressure drugs increases diabetes risk by 50%

USPTO confirms validity of Bystolic patent

Potassium loss caused by diuretics may explain higher risk of adult diabetes

Blood pressure readings taken at medical office do not appear to predict future heart risks

Mechanisms of cardiovascular disease and cancer give clues to new therapies

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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