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).

ACE, ARB combination therapy may increase risk of kidney failure, death

Elderly patients prescribed combination angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers had a higher risk of kidney failure and death, according to a study published in CMAJ.

22 Mar 2011

Earthquake response could be improved through telemedicine

A new study published by researchers at Weill Cornell Medical College and the University of California, Davis, foresees improvements in patient outcomes after a major earthquake through more effective use of information technology. A control tower-style telemedicine hub to manage electronic traffic between first responders and remote medical experts could boost the likelihood that critically injured victims will get timely care and survive, according to the team's computer simulation model.

21 Mar 2011

ACS announces definitive agreement to acquire CredenceHealth

Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (ACS), A Xerox Company, today announced a definitive agreement to acquire CredenceHealth, Inc., creating a simple way for healthcare providers to use patient information to predict and prevent complications.

21 Mar 2011

Physical ill-health reduces life expectancy of people with severe mental illness

Physical ill-health is rife among the severely mentally ill in Britain, according to new research published today by the University of East Anglia (UEA).

21 Mar 2011

EDMA endorses the campaign against excessive use of salt

EDMA, the European Diagnostic Manufacturers Association, fully endorses the 2011 World Salt Awareness Week theme “Salt and Men’s Health” as the latter reminds that more men than women die prematurely of cardiovascular diseases (CVD).

21 Mar 2011

Deaths from heart attacks drop precipitously in Norway, reports NTNU researcher

Life was hard in occupied Norway during WWII, but the occupation had one surprising result: deaths from heart attacks dropped precipitously, because Norwegians ate less fat, smoked less and were more physically active.

19 Mar 2011

JHUSON adds Harvey the Cardiopulmonary Simulator to simulation education

It's official: Harvey the Cardiopulmonary Simulator checked in for an extended stay at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON) last month. Harvey is the latest addition to the School's upgraded simulation laboratories and the newest member of the "Sim Fam." These life-like practice manikins, including Sim Man, Vital Sim Man,Noelle with newborn, and Sim Baby give nursing students the hands-on experience without the anxiety of working with actual human beings.

18 Mar 2011

Major clinical studies for heart disease, stroke fail to consider participant's ethnicity

Major clinical studies that evaluate prevention strategies for heart disease and stroke fail to consider a participant's ethnicity, a factor that can more than double the rate of death in some groups, according to research led by St. Michael's Dr. Joel Ray.

18 Mar 2011

British pie, mash and gravy meals too salty: Heart health experts

A new study by Consensus Action on Salt and Health (CASH) in the UK that looked at 526 pie, mash and gravy meals and products, found some meals to be extremely high in salt. A chicken and mushroom pie with chips or mash, gravy and peas from pub chain Wetherspoons contained an alarming 7.5g of salt, well over the daily maximum recommendation of 6g a day. All the pie and mash pub meals looked at contained more than 3g, half the daily maximum, the report said. The survey, conducted by YouGov, found that the mashed potato and gravy could significantly increase the salt content of a meal. According to CASH, while good progress has been made by supermarkets in cutting salt levels in pies, there are still too many products containing unnecessary quantities of salt.

17 Mar 2011

Stem cell therapy successfully heals a scarred and failing heart

A new study has shown that stem cells could heal scars caused by old heart attacks. In all eight patients who received the experimental treatment in an ongoing clinical trial this therapy worked. All of them had suffered heart attacks an average of 5 1/2 years prior; one of the patients had his heart attack 11 years earlier.

17 Mar 2011

Sports medicine physician suggests cardiac screening for young athletes requires augmentation of existing diagnostics to achieve greater accuracy, become cost-effective

Sports medicine physician Steve Watts says cardiac screening for young athletes is useful in preventing sudden cardiac death and suggests new diagnostics have the potential to add value and change the debate about the viability of cardiac screening for young athletes in the United States.

17 Mar 2011

Researchers to present latest findings about sleep disorders at Minneapolis Convention Center

Recent studies have linked sleep loss and sleep disorders to health problems such as depression, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and stroke. The latest findings in sleep research will be presented and discussed by more than 5,000 scientists and sleep specialists when the SLEEP 2011 25th Anniversary Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies LLC convenes at the Minneapolis Convention Center from June 13 to 15.

17 Mar 2011

Eating fatty fish reduces blindness risk from AMD: Study

New research has shown that consuming omega-3 fatty acids that are most commonly found in oily fish such as tinned salmon and tuna, could prevent the onset of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a condition that leads to the gradual loss of vision. The required amount may be as low as one to two portions of fish a week that can reduce the risk of sight loss by up to 42 per cent in older women, according to a new study. Earlier results have shown similar benefits in men. Omega 3, whose common form in food is Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) can also be taken as a supplement.

16 Mar 2011

Decades-old FDA approved hypertension drug may delay onset and reduce severity of MS

People suffering from multiple sclerosis may benefit if patent-pending research conducted at Purdue University shows that a decades-old drug approved by the FDA to treat hypertension also delays the onset and reduces the severity of MS symptoms.

16 Mar 2011

New study on how epoxyeicosatrienoic acids protect kidneys

Researchers at Georgia Health Sciences University are studying whether inhibiting an enzyme that reduces levels of a protective metabolite could halt the progression of diabetic nephropathy, or kidney disease resulting from diabetes.

16 Mar 2011

Researchers identify genetic cause of magnesium deficiency

Researchers and scientists of the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, in cooperation with the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, and colleagues from the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and the Czech Republic have succeeded in identifying a genetic cause of magnesium deficiency.

16 Mar 2011

Post-stroke depression management can lead to better physical functioning

Stroke patients who are not successfully treated for depression are at higher risk of losing some of their capability to function normally, according to a study in the March 15, 2011 issue of the journal Neurology.

16 Mar 2011

Human growth, height, size: Reasons to be small

Almost everybody these days thinks that it is best to be tall, meaning much taller than the average traditional height of Asian populations, and even taller than the current average height of populations in high-income countries. It is also often believed – though people might be shy to admit this – that tall people are intrinsically superior to short people. The expressions 'look up to' and 'look down on' are significant.

15 Mar 2011

Bariatric surgery can lead to long-term weight loss, reduce cardiac risk factors in obese adults

Bariatric surgery can result in long-term weight loss and significant reductions in cardiac and other risk factors for some severely obese adults, according to a scientific statement from the American Heart Association.

15 Mar 2011

Study: Statin use may reduce risk of high-grade prostate cancer

Men who take a certain class of cholesterol-lowering medicine, otherwise known as statins, may be 60 percent less likely to be diagnosed with high-grade prostate cancer.

15 Mar 2011