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).

70% of Americans underestimate the seriousness of SCA

More than 250,000 deaths occur each year as a result of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). In fact, SCA claims one life every two minutes, taking more lives each year than breast cancer, lung cancer or AIDS. Yet, according to a recent survey issued by the Heart Rhythm Society, more than 70 percent of Americans not only underestimate the seriousness of SCA, but also believe SCA is a type of heart attack.

3 Oct 2009

High-risk surgery patients have shorter hospital stays when their care was co-managed by hospitalists

A Loyola University Health System study has found that high-risk surgery patients experienced significantly shorter hospital stays when they were seen by general internists trained in managing medical complications in surgical patients.

3 Oct 2009

Research study suggests possibility of safely expanding donor kidney pool by 10 to 15 percent

Kidneys recovered from deceased donors with acute renal failure (ARF) - once deemed unusable for transplant - appear to work just as well as kidneys transplanted from deceased donors who do not develop kidney problems prior to organ donation, according to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

3 Oct 2009

Study finds link between allergic inflammation and nephropathy in men with type 2 diabetes

For men with type 2 diabetes, a cell type linked to allergic inflammation is closely linked to a key indicator of diabetic kidney disease (nephropathy), suggests a study in the November Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). "Allergy is a common disease that is increasing worldwide, so our findings may have important implications for diabetic nephropathy," comments Michiaki Fukui, MD (Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Japan).

3 Oct 2009

New (and old) ideas for health care show possibility of savings, improvements

The search for reform models continues, with news reports exploring the Veterans Administration's "government-run health care," Washington State's "reputation for lower-cost, higher-quality health care," and Kaiser Permanente's new money-saving approach to heart attack treatment.

3 Oct 2009

Breast milk should not be stored and fed later

The levels of the components in breast milk change every 24 hours in response to the needs of the baby. A new study published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience shows, for example, how this milk could help newborn babies to sleep.

3 Oct 2009

Dapagliflozin with metformin reduces glycosylated hemoglobin level and body weight

Results from a 24-week phase 3 clinical study demonstrated that the investigational drug dapagliflozin, added to metformin, demonstrated significant mean reductions in the primary endpoint, glycosylated hemoglobin level (HbA1c) and in the secondary endpoint, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) in patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled with metformin alone, as compared to placebo plus metformin.

3 Oct 2009

ALL initiative three-year clinical observational study results published

A program that bundled two generic, low-cost drugs - a cholesterol-lowering statin and a blood pressure-lowering drug - and gave daily doses to 68,560 people with diabetes or heart disease for two years is estimated to have prevented 1,271 heart attacks and strokes in the first year following the study period, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published online in the American Journal of Managed Care.

3 Oct 2009

Orexigen's Empatic Phase 2b results demonstrate weight loss

Orexigen Therapeutics, Inc. today announced that its 24-week, Phase 2b trial for Empatic(TM) (bupropion SR/zonisamide SR), the Company's second late stage investigational combination drug for the treatment of obesity, met its primary efficacy endpoint by demonstrating statistically significantly greater weight loss for both Empatic doses compared to monotherapies and placebo.

1 Oct 2009

CVRx commences enrollment in study evaluating the Rheos System to treat heart failure

CVRx, Inc. reported the first enrollment of a patient in the HOPE4HF Trial, a study that is evaluating the Rheos System to treat heart failure. The Rheos System uses Baroreflex Activation Therapy® technology, an entirely new non-pharmaceutical approach designed to treat cardiovascular disease. The HOPE4HF Trial is being conducted under an approved investigational device exemption (IDE) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

1 Oct 2009

Treating mothers for mild gestational diabetes reduces infant deaths and birth-related complications

Treating pregnant women for mild gestational diabetes resulted in fewer cesarean sections and other serious birthing problems associated with larger than average babies, according to a study conducted in part at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

1 Oct 2009

Treatment of gestational diabetes benefits both infant and mother

A National Institutes of Health network study provided the first conclusive evidence that treating pregnant women who have even the mildest form of gestational diabetes can reduce the risk of common birth complications among infants, as well as blood pressure disorders among mothers.

1 Oct 2009

Cardiac experts study a new procedure to treat leaky heart valves

Cardiac experts at Rush University Medical Center are studying a new, minimally invasive procedure to treat leaky heart valves. Instead of open heart surgery, patients will undergo a less complex catheter-based procedure to treat mitral regurgitation, a serious heart disorder where blood leaks backwards toward the lungs with each heart beat.

1 Oct 2009

Consumption of fish has no major role in protection against heart failure

The consumption of fish has no major role in the prevention of heart failure, according to results from a large prospective population study. The study, which was started in 1990 and involved all men and women over the age of 55 living in a suburb of Rotterdam, found no difference in the risk of developing heart failure between those who did eat fish and those who didn't.

1 Oct 2009

MSN launches new online service to help people manage healthcare decisions

Today, MSN released the beta of My Health Info, a new online service that helps people manage their health information on the Web. My Health Info is a unique service that offers people a variety of tools and widgets to upload, organize and monitor health information stored in their personal Microsoft HealthVault accounts.

1 Oct 2009

Patients with serious mental illness need to be treated for physical and mental health

New research backs up the demand to integrate psychiatric care with primary care services for people with serious mental disorders in Ontario, according to a study published today. "Patients need their care providers to close that gap," says lead author Dr. Russell Callaghan of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto.

1 Oct 2009

Cost-effective screening test for coronary artery disease

A simple, non-invasive test appears to be an effective screening tool for identifying patients with silent heart disease who are at risk for a heart attack or sudden death.

1 Oct 2009

Research study on teens who underwent laparoscopic bypass surgery

According to a recent study of clinical characteristics of teens who underwent laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery from 2002 until 2007, doctors may have a much narrower window of opportunity to reverse morbid obesity in teens than previously thought.

30 Sep 2009

Strategies to facilitate new, rapid payment system for medical care

A new RAND Corporation study outlines methods that might be used to test a novel payment system for medical care that would provide doctors, hospitals and other health providers a set fee for treating an ailment such as hip replacement surgery.

30 Sep 2009

Study links physical fitness levels of Spanish teenagers to cardiovascular health

Experts of the Department of Medical Physiology of the University of Granada (EFFECTS-262 research group) are leading a national research to measure the level of physical fitness of Spanish teenagers and its connection with their future cardiovascular health. The study, called AVENA, reveals that the cardiorespiratory fitness level of one out of five teenagers indicates there is a risk of having cardiovascular diseases in the future.

30 Sep 2009

Blood Pressure News and Research

Further Reading

70% of Americans underestimate the seriousness of SCA

High-risk surgery patients have shorter hospital stays when their care was co-managed by hospitalists

Research study suggests possibility of safely expanding donor kidney pool by 10 to 15 percent

Study finds link between allergic inflammation and nephropathy in men with type 2 diabetes

New (and old) ideas for health care show possibility of savings, improvements

Breast milk should not be stored and fed later

Dapagliflozin with metformin reduces glycosylated hemoglobin level and body weight

ALL initiative three-year clinical observational study results published

Orexigen's Empatic Phase 2b results demonstrate weight loss

CVRx commences enrollment in study evaluating the Rheos System to treat heart failure

Treating mothers for mild gestational diabetes reduces infant deaths and birth-related complications

Treatment of gestational diabetes benefits both infant and mother

Cardiac experts study a new procedure to treat leaky heart valves

Consumption of fish has no major role in protection against heart failure

MSN launches new online service to help people manage healthcare decisions

Patients with serious mental illness need to be treated for physical and mental health

Cost-effective screening test for coronary artery disease

Research study on teens who underwent laparoscopic bypass surgery

Strategies to facilitate new, rapid payment system for medical care

Study links physical fitness levels of Spanish teenagers to cardiovascular health

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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