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).

Picking the right stress test for heart disease risk analysis

Stress tests are good front-line tests indicators of heart disease, but just how good depends on ordering the right one, researchers say.

12 Oct 2007

Pioneering approach to cardiovascular care

Thousands of heart patients in the Greater New York region will receive top quality, comprehensive cardiac care in an innovative cardiovascular program in which physicians at a major academic medical center will receive incentive payments based on 60 performance measures for outpatient and inpatient care.

12 Oct 2007

Breast cancer awareness calls for cardiovascular awareness

Women who overcome breast cancer have every reason to celebrate. But a heart filled with joy may also be a heart damaged by life-saving cancer therapies, a growing body of research shows.

12 Oct 2007

1st successful treatment for chronic traumatic brain injury

C A research team led by Dr. Paul Harch, Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans and Director of the LSU Hyperbaric Medicine Fellowship Program, has published findings that show hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) improved spatial learning and memory in a model of chronic traumatic brain injury.

12 Oct 2007

The highs and lows of drug cravings

The anticipation of a cocaine fix and the actual craving to abuse the drug are two closely related phenomena, according to new evidence published in the online open access journal Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy.

11 Oct 2007

Women with high or increasing blood pressure more likely to develop diabetes

One of the largest studies to investigate the relationship between blood pressure and type 2 diabetes has found that women who have high blood pressure levels are three times more likely to develop diabetes than women with low blood pressure levels.

10 Oct 2007

Stress and disease likely linked

A new commentary in the Oct. 10 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association explores whether psychological stress leads to disease and concludes that the link is likely.

10 Oct 2007

M-POSSUM evaluation system improves accuracy and effectiveness of the original system

Based on POSSUM, a system suggested by some British scholars more than 10 years ago, a team led by Dr. Lian-An Ding has established the M-POSSUM evaluation system with the aim of improving the accuracy and effectiveness of the original system.

10 Oct 2007

Medicaid managed care enrollees appear to receive lower-quality

The proportion of Medicaid beneficiaries in managed care increased from 23 percent to more than 60 percent during the same time period,” the authors write. There is limited information in peer-reviewed literature on the quality of care delivered within health plans to Medicaid enrollees.

10 Oct 2007

Pay-for-performance project to improve cardiovascular care

8 Oct 2007

Lowering blood pressure protects stroke victims with chronic kidney disease from further strokes

New research, published in the Journal of American Society of Nephrology by The George Institute for International Health in Sydney, has found that lowering blood pressure protects stroke victims with Chronic Kidney Disease from further strokes or heart attacks.

8 Oct 2007

Sex after chronic heart failure

Although medication can help extend the lives of men with chronic heart failure, several factors associated with this disease can interfere with a person's ability to engage in and enjoy sexual activities.

4 Oct 2007

Infant mortality rates decline in New York City

New York City's infant mortality rate - widely regarded as a barometer of a population's general health - fell slightly in 2006, the Health Department reported today.

4 Oct 2007

Tips to manage stress

When stress never seems to go away, health can suffer. The October issue of Mayo Clinic Health Letter offers an overview of stress, the good, the bad and ways to reduce its ill effects.

4 Oct 2007

New understanding of how brain controls blood pressure regulation

A discovery made 25 years ago about how the brain controls blood pressure regulation is only now being explored with the help of scientists from the Howard Florey Institute.

4 Oct 2007

Losing a little weight might help avoid drugs to reduce hypertension

Researchers in Italy say losing weight can bring down a person's hypertension; they say even a moderate weight loss can lower high blood pressure to within the normal range.

3 Oct 2007

Obese moms-to-be should gain less weight than currently recommended

Severely obese women should lose weight during pregnancy, while obese women who are pregnant should gain less weight than currently recommended, a Saint Louis University study finds.

2 Oct 2007

New test detects the presence of biogenic amines

Researchers in California are reporting development of a fast, inexpensive test suitable for home use that could help millions of people avoid those 'out of the blue' headaches that may follow consumption of certain red wines, cheese, chocolate, and other aged or fermented foods.

2 Oct 2007

Better use of kidneys from deceased donors

Several new studies suggest how transplant surgeons can make more effective use of kidneys from deceased donors – even those that are at the outer limits of acceptance criteria – according to researchers from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

2 Oct 2007

Rapamycin and Gleevec reverses effects of portal hypertension in rats

A combined treatment with rapamycin and Gleevec might reverse the effects of portal hypertension in patients with chronic liver disease, according to the results of a new study on rats.

2 Oct 2007