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News: February 14, 2012
Even for the Overweight, Exercise Helps the Heart
TUESDAY, Feb. 7 (HealthDay News) -- Getting and staying physically fit might help fend off heart disease even if you've put on a few pounds, new research suggests. "If you would like to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, you want to be cau...
Blood Pressure Differences Between Arms Could Signal Heart Risk
SUNDAY, Jan. 29 (HealthDay News) -- People whose systolic blood pressure -- the upper number in their reading -- is different in their left and right arms may be suffering from a vascular disease that could increase their risk of death, British re...
Antidepressants While Pregnant Linked to Slight Risk of Lung Problem in Babies
THURSDAY, Jan. 12 (HealthDay News) -- Women who use antidepressants called selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors such as Prozac and Celexa during pregnancy run a slight risk of having an infant with high blood pressure in the lungs, a new Swedis...
Smog Tied to Raised Risk of Chronic Illness in Black Women
FRIDAY, Jan. 6 (HealthDay News) -- Air pollution may increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure in black American women, a new study suggests. Previous research has shown that air pollution boosts the chances of acute cardiovascu...
Narrowed Artery Condition Often Goes Undiagnosed: Study
THURSDAY, Jan. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Millions of Americans have an undiagnosed artery disorder that can lead to high blood pressure, stroke and aneurysms, a new study reveals. The disorder is fibromuscular dysplasia, an accumulation of fibrous ti...
Positive Reinforcement May Help Patients Take Their Meds
FRIDAY, Jan. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Positive reinforcement, such as receiving small, unexpected gifts and introducing upbeat thoughts into daily routines, seems to help patients with high blood pressure take their medication as directed, according...
Got High Blood Pressure? Kiwi FruitMay Help
TUESDAY, Nov. 15 (HealthDay News) -- An apple a day won't necessarily keep the doctor away, but three kiwis just might help, at least according to a small study that showed that the brown, fuzzy fruit may lower blood pressure levels. Men and women...
Viagra May Help Children With Rare Blood Pressure Disorder
TUESDAY, Oct. 25 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that the active ingredient in the erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, which was initially developed as a treatment for heart disease, could help children with a rare condition called pulmona...
Hypertension, Not Blood Pressure Drugs, Linked to Birth Defects
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Although pregnant women who have high blood pressure face a higher risk that their baby will be born with birth defects, new research indicates that the medications typically used to treat the condition will ...
Study Suggests Origins of Pregnancy-Linked High Blood Pressure
TUESDAY, Oct. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Preeclampsia, a potentially dangerous spike in blood pressure during pregnancy, may be due to a microscopic battle going on within the placenta between cells directed by the father's genes and those directed by...
Overweight Kids at Greater Risk for High Blood Pressure
TUESDAY, Oct. 4 (HealthDay News) -- Overweight or obese children are nearly three times as likely to have high blood pressure as kids who are a normal weight, according to a new study from the American Heart Association. The increased risk applies...
1 in 4 U.S. Adults Treated for High Blood Pressure: Report
THURSDAY, Sept. 29 (HealthDay News) -- One-quarter of American adults received treatment for high blood pressure in 2008, according to new research from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Of those 55.1 million people with high bl...
Blacks Develop High Blood Pressure a Year Ahead of Whites
TUESDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- It's well known that blacks are at greater risk for developing high blood pressure than whites are, but new research now suggests they also progress more rapidly from a pre-hypertension state to full-blown hig...
Newly Found Gene Mutations May Aid Heart Treatments
TUESDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers have found dozens of new genetic variants involved in high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. Although more than 300 genes for cardiovascular diseases have been identified in the past few ye...
Certain Painkillers May Raise Odds of Stroke, Heart Attack: Study
THURSDAY, July 14 (HealthDay News) -- Heart disease patients with high blood pressure who take a class of painkillers called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are at greater risk for heart attack, stroke or even death, new research sh...
Bettering Social Status Lowers High Blood Pressure Risk
TUESDAY, July 12 (HealthDay News) -- Upward social mobility appears to help reduce the risk of high blood pressure in people who were born into poor or disadvantaged situations, according to a new study. Previous research has shown that poor and d...
Medical Groups Update Heart, Blood Pressure Care Guidelines
MONDAY, June 13 (HealthDay News) -- Patient-focused outcomes are emphasized in 10 updated performance measures for people with coronary artery disease and hypertension that were released Monday by a trio of major U.S. medical groups. "These measur...
Psoriasis, High Blood Pressure May Be Linked
FRIDAY, May 20 (HealthDay News) -- People who have psoriasis and hypertension are more likely to have more severe high blood pressure, requiring more medications to control it, a new study suggests. About 4 percent of the U.S. population has psori...
Standard Heart Drugs Won't Ease Pulmonary Hypertension
WEDNESDAY, May 18 (HealthDay News) -- Although commonly used to treat heart disease, aspirin and simvastatin offer no benefit to patients suffering from pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH, a progressive disease characterized by increased bloo...
Religion Doesn't Help Lower Blood Pressure, Study Suggests
SATURDAY, April 30 (HealthDay News) -- Although faith in a higher power may bring you great comfort, leading a religious life won't help reduce high blood pressure, a small study suggests. In fact, the study found that people who tried to incorpor...
Experts Offer New Guidance for Blood Pressure Control in Elderly
MONDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly Americans are at high risk for high blood pressure and related health problems and death, but lifestyle changes and proper use of medicines can reduce these risks, says a clinical guidance statement rel...
Implantable Device May Lower Tough-to-Treat Hypertension
TUESDAY, April 5 (HealthDay News) -- For people with hard-to-control blood pressure, a new implantable device shows promise, researchers report. The device, surgically placed just below the collarbone, sends a four- to six-volt electrical jolt to ...
Nerve Block Treatment May Ease Stubborn High Blood Pressure
TUESDAY, March 29 (HealthDay News) -- A technique that interrupts nerve signals between the kidneys and brain dropped blood pressure to normal levels in 39 percent of patients with drug-resistant hypertension, according to a small new study led by...
Obesity Alone Raises Risk of Fatal Heart Attack, Study Finds
MONDAY, Feb. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Obese men face a dramatically higher risk of dying from a heart attack, regardless of whether or not they have other known risk factors for cardiovascular disease, a new study reveals. The finding stems from an ...
Race, Sex Play Part in Hypertension Risk
MONDAY, Dec. 6 (HealthDay News) -- A new study finds that race, gender and where you live strongly affect your risk for high blood pressure, which is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Deaths from heart disease and stroke in the Uni...
Nerve Zap to Kidneys Might Ease Stubborn Hypertension
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 17 (HealthDay News) -- A novel approach to blast away kidney nerves has a striking effect on lowering blood pressure in heart patients whose blood pressure wasn't budging despite trying multiple drugs, Australian researchers report...
Percentage of U.S. Adults With Hypertension Holds Steady at 30%
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Although many Americans are aware of the dangers associated with high blood pressure and many are controlling the condition, the prevalence of high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, hasn't changed i...
For Black Men, Haircuts Might Also Cut High Blood Pressure
TUESDAY, Oct. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Offering black men blood pressure checks while they're having their hair cut could help them keep hypertension at bay, a new study finds. This could be a new way to help reduce rates of uncontrolled high blood ...
Americans' Salt Intake Unchanged Over 50 Years
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Americans still consume more salt than they should, despite decades of warnings linking high-salt diets with an increase in blood pressure and a higher risk of heart disease and stroke. A new Harvard study fi...
Even a Little Weight Loss Helps Lower Blood Pressure in Obese Kids
FRIDAY, Oct. 15 (HealthDay News) -- For overweight children, losing just a little weight can significantly lower their blood pressure, according to researchers from Indiana University School of Medicine. High blood pressure, or hypertension, in ch...
Genes May Help Explain High Blood Pressure in Blacks
THURSDAY, Oct. 14 (HealthDay News) -- Genetics may help explain the increased risk for high blood pressure among people of African descent, according to U.S. researchers. The study authors said a gene on chromosome 5 appears to influence the produ...
Workplace Noise Tied to Heart Disease Risk
TUESDAY, Oct. 5 (HealthDay News) -- Persistent, loud noise in the workplace more than doubles the risk for heart disease, Canadian researchers say. Among those at highest risk are younger men who smoke, which by itself is a risk factor for heart d...
Lack of Sleep During Pregnancy Ups Risk of High Blood Pressure
FRIDAY, Oct. 1 (HealthDay News) -- A good night's sleep when you're pregnant may help keep your blood pressure levels normal, new research suggests. Pregnant women who got less than six hours of nightly sleep during early pregnancy had systolic bl...
Clues to Heart Attack, Stroke Risk From Fat-Filled Artery
MONDAY, Aug. 30 (HealthDay News) -- A number of factors put patients with abnormal fatty deposits in an artery at high risk for heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death, a new study shows. Patients in various stages of this condition -- ather...
Could PCBs Help Boost Blood Pressure?
MONDAY, July 19 (HealthDay News) -- People in an Alabama city who had higher levels of the chemicals known as PCBs in their bodies were much more likely to have high blood pressure, a recent study found, but it's not clear if the PCBs actually cau...
Monitoring Blood Pressure at Home May Help Keep It Low
WEDNESDAY, July 7 (HealthDay News) -- With proper training, people with high blood pressure may be able to control it more effectively on their own at home than through conventional methods, British researchers contend. Through telemonitoring of t...
Vitamins May Not Curb High Blood Pressure in Pregnant Diabetics
SATURDAY, June 26 (HealthDay News) -- Taking vitamin C and E supplements will not lower the risk of the blood pressure disorder known as preeclampsia in pregnant women with type 1 diabetes, a new study finds. Women with diabetes are at high risk f...
Ninety Percent of Stroke Risk Due to 10 Risk Factors
FRIDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- A large international study has found that 10 risk factors account for 90 percent of all the risk of stroke, with high blood pressure playing the most potent role. Of that list, five risk factors usually related...
'Healthy' Pre-Diabetics Still Face Heart Disease Threat
MONDAY, May 3 (HealthDay News) -- People who are at high risk of developing diabetes and high blood pressure but don't have symptoms yet may still be at higher risk for heart disease, a new study reports. "Diabetes and hypertension have reached ep...
Noncardiac Chest Pain May Warrant More Management: Study
SATURDAY, April 24 (HealthDay News) -- People discharged from the hospital with noncardiac (not heart-related) chest pain may require more aggressive cardiovascular risk management than they typically receive, a new study has found. Noncardiac che...
Could Lowering Blood Pressure Help Stop Dementia?
WEDNESDAY, March 17 (HealthDay News) -- In the ongoing struggle to find treatments -- and maybe one day even a cure -- for dementia, researchers are focusing their attention on high blood pressure, long a culprit for a variety of other ills and an...
Variable Blood Pressure a New Stroke Risk Factor?
THURSDAY, March 11 (HealthDay News) -- Challenging established medical wisdom about blood pressure and stroke, new British research suggests that extremely variable blood pressure, and not just high blood pressure, can greatly increase a person's ...
Report Calls High Blood Pressure a 'Neglected Disease'
MONDAY, Feb. 22 (HealthDay News) -- Americans eat way too much salt and cutting down on that consumption should be a cornerstone of new public health efforts to curb hypertension. That's one of the key messages of an Institute of Medicine (IOM) re...
Benicar Approved for Kids With High Blood Pressure
THURSDAY, Feb. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Olmesartan medoxomil (Benicar), approved in 2002 to treat high blood pressure in adults, has been sanctioned by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat the same condition in children aged 6 to 16, drug ...
Breast-Feeding Can Help Mom's Heart Decades Later
THURSDAY, Dec. 3 (HealthDay News) -- Breast-feeding, even for just a couple of months, can significantly lower a woman's risk of metabolic syndrome -- a dangerous cluster of heart disease risk factors -- years later, reports a new study appearing ...
Diuretics Still Best Treatment for High Blood Pressure
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Tried-and-true diuretics maintain their status as the best first-line treatment in older men and women with high blood pressure, new research concludes. The thiazide-type diuretic chlorthalidone outshone thre...
Common Infections May Contribute to Strokes
TUESDAY, Nov. 10 (HealthDay News) -- Exposure to several common pathogens may increase the risk of having a stroke, a new study shows. Led by Dr. Mitchell Elkind, an associate professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center in New Yor...
High Blood Pressure Likely in Alzheimer's Offspring
MONDAY, Nov. 2 (HealthDay News) -- Middle-aged adults whose parents have Alzheimer's disease are at increased risk for high blood pressure, evidence of arterial disease and markers of inflammation -- all of which may be associated with later devel...
Fructose May Raise Blood Pressure
FRIDAY, Oct. 30 (HealthDay News) -- Here's a new reason to put down that sugary soft drink: Research suggests that a diet high in fructose, a common sweetener, boosts the risk of high blood pressure. High-fructose corn syrup is found in many proce...
Clues to Hypertension in Kids May Be Seen in Bones
TUESDAY, Oct. 20 (HealthDay News) -- New research links high blood pressure in children to bones that are more mature than average, suggesting that advanced bone age may predict cardiovascular problems. The new study, published Oct. 19 in the jour...
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