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).

Restless legs syndrome linked to hypertension

Up to 15 percent of the population has restless legs syndrome. Restless legs syndrome is characterized by crawling sensations and repeated muscle twichings in one or both legs, and an uncontrollable urge to move them - which may compel a person to walk in circles for hours at night.

12 Oct 2011

Environmental toxicants can pose risk for atherosclerosis

Environmental toxicants such as dioxins, PCBs, and pesticides can pose a risk for cardiovascular disease. For the first time a link has been demonstrated between atherosclerosis and levels of long-lived organic environmental toxicants in the blood.

12 Oct 2011

Multivitamin supplements no panacea for women: Study

According to the latest American study women who take multivitamin supplements don't live longer than those who get their nutrients from food alone. In fact, they appear to have slightly higher death rates, researchers found.

11 Oct 2011

CRN responds to study on dietary supplements in older women

In response to the published study, "Dietary Supplements and Mortality Rate in Older Women," published in the Archives of Internal Medicine (a publication of the American Medical Association), the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association representing the dietary supplement industry, issued the following two-part statement.

11 Oct 2011

Patients with poorly controlled diabetes may benefit from behavioral, educational interventions

Three randomized controlled trials published Online First today in Archives of Internal Medicine examine the effectiveness of behavioral and educational interventions for patients with poorly controlled diabetes.

11 Oct 2011

Middle-aged woman with RLS more likely to develop hypertension

If you're a middle-aged woman with Restless Legs Syndrome, you may have a higher risk of developing high blood pressure, according to new research reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.

11 Oct 2011

Merck’s diabetes combo pill gets FDA nod

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Merck & Co.’s Juvisync diabetes drug, a combination pill for type 2 diabetes. Juvisync combines two Merck drugs already on the market, 1) glucose-lowering Januvia (Sitagliptin) medication and 2) cholesterol-lowering Zocor (Simvastatin).

10 Oct 2011

Boehringer Ingelheim receives FDA approval for COMBIVENT RESPIMAT to treat COPD

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved COMBIVENT RESPIMAT, a new, propellant-free inhaler product that uses a slow-moving mist to deliver the same active ingredients of COMBIVENT Inhalation Aerosol in a metered dose inhaler.

10 Oct 2011

Loyola surgeon performs minimally invasive emergency procedure to repair AAA

Jack Kory of Mokena, Il. was eating his breakfast oatmeal when he suddenly felt the worst pain in his life. The searing pain came on suddenly in his stomach and spread to his knees. It was caused by an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) that had suddenly burst, causing massive internal bleeding. Traditionally, few patients have survived such ruptures. But Loyola University Medical Center vascular surgeon Dr. Richard Hershberger was able to repair Kory's aneurysm with a minimally invasive emergency procedure.

10 Oct 2011

UMass Amherst SPHHS wins HHS award to create Public Health Training Center

Training to improve the nation's public health system by strengthening the technical, scientific, managerial and leadership competence of current and future public health workers will soon be underway in Springfield, Holyoke, Pittsfield and the Berkshires, supported by a four-year, $2.5 million grant to the School of Public Health and Health Sciences (SPHHS) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

10 Oct 2011

Research roundup: Health disparities; Prescription drug abuse in Medicare Part D; Medicaid's role for HIV patients

Achieving Equity In Health -- This policy brief examines the outlining factors that cause disparities in the health care system and focuses on the October issue of the journal, which is devoted to research on the subject.

7 Oct 2011

Where you live could play a larger role in health disparities than originally thought

Where you live could play a larger role in health disparities than originally thought, according to a new study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

7 Oct 2011

Bedtime consumption of blood pressure medications improves control of hypertension

Patients who take certain popular types of blood pressure medication once a day are able to achieve somewhat better control of their hypertension if they take their daily dose at bedtime, according to a new systematic review.

7 Oct 2011

Calcium supplementation does not benefit pregnant women, except for hypertension

Most physicians instruct pregnant women to increase their calcium intake, but a new evidence review of potential benefits of calcium supplementation for mom and baby found none, except for the prevention of pregnancy-related hypertension.

7 Oct 2011

NO could improve recovery of critically ill patients in intensive care

The latest results from an expedition to Mount Everest that looked at the body's response to low oxygen levels suggest that drugs or procedures that promote the body's production of a chemical compound called nitric oxide (NO) could improve the recovery of critically ill patients in intensive care.

7 Oct 2011

Pregnant mums taking miscarriage prevention drug decades ago may have put their girls at risk of infertility and cancers

A new study reveals that a drug that was taken by millions of pregnant women decades ago to prevent miscarriage and complications has put their daughters at higher risk for breast cancer and other health problems. The study shows that many of these daughters are now over 40 and may not even know of their risk if their mothers never realized or told them they had used the drug, a synthetic estrogen called DES or Diethyl stilbesterol.

6 Oct 2011

Overweight and blood pressure risk in kids: Study

According to a new study kids who are overweight are nearly three times more likely to have high blood pressure compared to their peers. The study, published in the journal Hypertension, followed 1,111 school-aged children in Indiana for an average of four years.

5 Oct 2011

AHRQ: 55.1 million American adults treated for hypertension in 2008

One in four American adults (55.1 million) was treated in 2008 for hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

4 Oct 2011

Largest prospective study of MRI in patients with implanted devices

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), an important diagnostic test, has traditionally been off limits to more than 2 million people in the United States who have an implanted pacemaker to regulate heart rhythms or an implanted defibrillator to prevent sudden cardiac death.

4 Oct 2011

Stroke more prevalent among Metis than other Manitobans

The stroke rate among Manitoba Metis is nearly 25 percent higher than for other Manitobans, according to a study by the University of Manitoba and the Manitoba Metis Federation (MMF) presented today at the Canadian Stroke Congress.

4 Oct 2011