Hypertension

A Soda a Day Ups CVD Risk by 30%: NHANES Study

Marlene Busko February 04, 2014 Full Story ATLANTA, GA — American adults consume on average about 15% of their calories from sugars added to foods during processing, with a whopping 37% of the added sugar consumed in sugar-sweetened beverages, suggests an analysis of data extending back about 25 years. Moreover, the study projects that regularly […]

Meditation Alters Genes Rapidly, Triggers Molecular Changes

Elizabeth Renter Infowars.com January 30, 2014 Full Story Journal Reference If you are a practitioner of meditation, the results of a new study published in Psychoneuroendocrinology will likely come as no surprise. But for some scientists, the revelation that meditating can actually trigger molecular changes is groundbreaking. The researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Institute of […]

Effect of Dietary Sodium Reduction on Lowering Blood Pressure

Circulation 2014 Jan 14;[EPub Ahead of Print], PK Whelton Review · January 24, 2014 Full Story TAKE-HOME MESSAGE This review, which summarizes the evidence surrounding the effect of dietary sodium reduction on lowering blood pressure, includes three recent meta-analyses showing significant blood pressure decline associated with lower sodium intake. The authors note that a simple lifestyle […]

HTN Guidelines Loosen BP Cutoffs

The long-awaited update to guidelines for the management of hypertension, from the panel appointed to the Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8), raises the recommended blood pressure threshold to determine the need for drug therapy in many patients.

CPAP Tackles Resistant HTN

12.11.2013 by Salynn Boyles Contributing Writer, MedPage Today Among obstructive sleep apnea patients with resistant hypertension, treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) lowered both daytime and nighttime blood pressure in a multicenter, clinical trial. Patients in the study who had acceptable CPAP adherence showed clinically and statistically significant reductions in both 24-hour mean and […]

Mindful Meditation Shows Promise for BP Lowering in CKD

IMNG Medical Media, 2013 Nov 12, S Worcester Full Story:  http://www.practiceupdate.com/news/3696 ATLANTA (IMNG) – Mindfulness meditation may improve blood pressure in hypertensive patients with chronic kidney disease, according to findings from a small randomized study. This study involved 15 patients who had stage 3 chronic kidney disease and hypertension. Compared with a control condition involving […]

Nighttime Apnea Therapy Eases Daytime HTN

Published: Nov 5, 2013 | Updated: Nov 6, 2013 By Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Full Story:  http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pulmonology/SleepDisorders/42734 Action Points Treating OSA modestly brought down some measures of resistant hypertension beyond what blood pressure medications could achieve alone. Note that the impact of CPAP on blood pressures in these patients with confirmed resistant […]

Exercise May Cut Hypertension Risk

Published: Oct 1, 2013 | Updated: Oct 1, 2013 By Todd Neale Full Story:  http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Hypertension/41978 Action Points This meta-analysis suggests that there was an inverse dose-response association between levels of recreational physical activity and risk of hypertension. There was no significant association between occupational physical activity and hypertension. Individuals with higher levels of recreational physical activity carried […]

Urinary Magnesium Excretion and Risk of Hypertension

The Prevention of Renal and Vascular End-Stage Disease Study Michel M. Joosten Observational studies on dietary or circulating magnesium and risk of hypertension have reported weak-to-modest inverse associations, but have lacked measures of actual dietary uptake. Urinary magnesium excretion, an indicator of intestinal magnesium absorption, may provide a better insight in this association. We examined […]

Effects of habitual coffee consumption on cardiometabolic disease, cardiovascular health, and all-cause mortality

Authors O’Keefe JH1, Bhatti SK, Patil HR, DiNicolantonio JJ,Lucan SC, Lavie CJ. Author information Journal J Am Coll Cardiol. 2013 Sep 17;62(12):1043-51. doi: 10.1016/j.jacc.2013.06.035. Epub 2013 Jul 17. Affiliation Comment in J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014 Feb 18;63(6):607. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2014 Feb 18;63(6):606-7. Abstract Coffee, after water, is the most widely consumed beverage in the United States, […]

Vitamin D No Help for High BP in Older Adults

08.12.2013 Action Points Note that this randomized trial failed to demonstrate that vitamin D supplementation improves blood pressure in older adults. Be aware that prior observational findings demonstrating an inverse relationship between vitamin D levels and systolic blood pressure are unlikely to represent a causal link in the light of this new evidence. Supplementation with […]

Blood pressure changes in African American patients receiving chiropractic care in a teaching clinic

A preliminary study Kim L. McMasters, MS, DC Journal of Chiropractic Medicine Volume 12, Issue 2, June 2013, Pages 55–59 Journal Abstract:  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1556370713000576 Abstract Objective The purpose of this preliminary study was to determine if a course of chiropractic care would change blood pressure measurements in African American patients and to determine if a study […]

Low Vitamin D Causes High BP, Study Shows

Published: Jun 12, 2013 | Updated: Jun 13, 2013 By Kathleen Struck , Senior Editor, MedPage Today Action Points Note that this large genetic analysis demonstrated that individuals with genes linked to lower vitamin D levels are more likely to have hypertension mediated by low vitamin D, strengthening the argument for a causal link. Be […]

Seasoning May Cut Salt Needs in Hypertension

Published: May 20, 2013 | Updated: May 20, 2013 By Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Action Points This study was published as an abstract and presented at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal. A greater taste for salt among older hypertensive […]

Watermelon supplementation reduces arterial stiffness and aortic SBP in obese postmenopausal women with hypertension

Effects of watermelon supplementation on arterial stiffness and wave reflection amplitude in postmenopausal women. Figueroa A, Wong A, Hooshmand S, Sanchez-Gonzalez MA. Menopause. 2013 May;20(5):573-7. doi: 10.1097/GME.0b013e3182733794. Abstract OBJECTIVE: Postmenopausal women have increased arterial stiffness (brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity [baPWV]) and wave reflection. L-Citrulline supplementation reduces baPWV but not brachial blood pressure. Peripheral vasodilators decrease […]

Relationship Between Lumbar Spinal Stenosis and Lifestyle-Related Disorders

Relationship Between Lumbar Spinal Stenosis and Lifestyle-Related Disorders: A Cross-Sectional Multicenter Observational Study Uesugi, Kazuhide MD, PhD Spine 20 April 2013 Vol. 38 – Issue 9: p E540–E545 Abstract Study Design. A cross-sectional multicenter observational study. Objective. To identify associations between lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) and lifestyle-related diseases. Summary of Background Data. Impaired blood flow […]

Beet Juice Beats Hypertension

MedPageToday.com Published: Apr 15, 2013 By Nancy Walsh , Staff Writer, MedPage Today Action Points Drinking a cup of nitrate-rich beetroot juice significantly lowered blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive individuals. Note that the study participants tolerated the regimen well. Drinking a cup of nitrate-rich beetroot juice significantly lowered blood pressure (BP) in hypertensive individuals, a […]

More Support for ‘Less Salt, More Potassium’

Published: Apr 4, 2013 By Todd Neale , Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today Action Points In two systematic reviews of the literature and a meta-analysis of randomized trials, evidence was found indicating that a modest reduction in salt intake caused falls in blood pressure in both hypertensive and normotensive individuals and in one study was […]

Run or Walk: Gains in Heart Health Similar

Published: Apr 4, 2013 By Michael Smith , North American Correspondent, MedPage Today Full Story Journal Reference Action Points The same energy expenditure associated with moderate (walking) and vigorous (running) exercise produced similar risk reductions for hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, and possibly coronary heart disease. However, runners typically expend about twice as much energy as walkers […]

Very High Blood Lead Levels Among Adults – Hypertension and Essential Tremors

Very High Blood Lead Levels Among Adults United States, 2002-2011 Kathryn Kirschner; Kathy Leinenkugel, MPA; Mike Makowski, MPH; Alicia M. Fletcher, MPH; Carol R. Braun; Walter A. Alarcon, MD; Marie H. Sweeney, PhD; Geoffrey M. Calvert, MD Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2013;62(47):967-971. Introduction Over the past several decades there has been a remarkable reduction […]