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).

Drug to treat cluster headaches may affect the heart

Researchers are warning that a drug increasingly being used to prevent cluster headaches can cause heart problems.

14 Aug 2007

Diovan (valsartan) granted pediatric exclusivity by FDA

Diovan (valsartan) has been granted pediatric exclusivity by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) based on studies conducted in children with high blood pressure.

13 Aug 2007

Genomic factors may play a role in alcohol and tobacco use

Alcohol and smoking can be harmful, if not deadly. While the desire for these substances can be due to environmental cues, genomic factors also play an important role.

13 Aug 2007

The role of estrogens and polyphenols in hypertension and diabetes

Menopausal women are at relatively high risk for memory loss, high blood pressure (hypertension) and diabetes.

12 Aug 2007

Testosterone replacement therapy for men

For decades, older women have taken hormone replacements to replenish estrogen and progesterone levels lost to aging.

9 Aug 2007

Gender differences in renal and other genes contributing to blood pressure

Many common diseases exhibit gender bias and gender differences have been observed in the development of high blood pressure (hypertension) and heart (cardiovascular) disease.

9 Aug 2007

Estrogen deficiency may trigger the development of high blood pressure and obesity in aged females

At menopause, women lose hormone protection against heart (cardiovascular) and kidney (renal) diseases, and are likely to become obese. A research team has tested the idea that estrogen deficiency in aged females may trigger the development of high blood pressure and obesity.

9 Aug 2007

Sex and gender in cardiovascular-renal physiology and pathophysiology

Gender influences the prevalence and progression rate of many renal diseases, such as polycystic kidney disease (PKD).

9 Aug 2007

Hypertension in the very elderly trial stopped

An international trial looking at the benefits of giving blood-pressure lowering medication to elderly patients has stopped early, after researchers observed significant reductions in overall mortality in those receiving treatment.

7 Aug 2007

Quality of treatment guidelines

Practising physicians are nowadays presented with official guidelines on the treatments they should give their patients.

7 Aug 2007

Inhaled nitric oxide safe for very premature infants

A nationwide study led by researchers at UCSF provides evidence that inhaled nitric oxide is safe and effective for the prevention of the most common type of long-term lung disease of very premature infants.

7 Aug 2007

Misconceptions about high blood pressure impede treatment

The distrust of healthcare providers shown by people with high blood pressure impedes effective treatment, as emphasized in a new study published in Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.

7 Aug 2007

Efalizumab effective in treatment of heavy psoriasis

A meta-analysis of four randomized Phase III placebo-controlled trials confirms that the injectable drug Efalizumab, a humanized therapeutic antibody designed to selectively and reversibly block the activation, reactivation and trafficking of T-cells that lead to the development of psoriasis, had an acceptable safety and efficacy profile in the treatment of psoriasis in heavy patients, researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine announced today.

3 Aug 2007

Babies born to mothers who smoked have higher systolic blood pressures

Infants whose mothers smoke during pregnancy have substantially higher blood pressures in their first months of life, Dutch researchers reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

1 Aug 2007

Europe approves MIRCERA to treat anaemia

Roche has announced that the European Commission has approved its innovative drug MIRCERA to treat anaemia associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD).

27 Jul 2007

Low literacy can shorten life

Not being able to read doesn't just make it harder to navigate each day. Low literacy impairs people's ability to obtain critical information about their health and can dramatically shorten their lives.

24 Jul 2007

Being elderly and illiterate means a significantly higher mortality rate

Researchers in the U.S. have found that being elderly and being unable to read and understand basic health information is a bad combination.

24 Jul 2007

Cut out the sodas - cut down the metabolic syndrome risk!

According to a large U.S. study, soda drinks, whether they be diet or regular, are linked to an increased risk of metabolic syndrome among middle-age adults.

23 Jul 2007

IDM Pharma plans to amend NDA for Mifamurtide (L-MTP-PE) for the treatment of osteosarcoma

IDM Pharma, Inc. has announced that it has recently met with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and informed the FDA that the Company intends to take immediate action to supplement the data in its current New Drug Application (NDA) for mifamurtide (L-MTP-PE), formerly known as Junovan, which is being reviewed for the treatment of children and adolescents with non-metastatic osteosarcoma.

23 Jul 2007

Prevention and treatment of vitamin D deficiency

Boston, MA:In a review article to appear in the July 19th issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Michael Holick, an internationally recognized expert in vitamin D, provides an overview of his pioneering work that expounds on the important role vitamin D plays in a wide variety of chronic health conditions, as well as suggesting strategies for the prevention and treatment of vitamin D deficiency.

19 Jul 2007