Proteins regulating water retention in salt-sensitive hypertension identified

ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2010) — Research conducted by scientists at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans has found that two proteins in the brain act as valves to turn the hormone that regulates water retention in the body on and off. Their findings may lead to advances in treatment for diseases like high blood pressure, congestive heart failure, and cirrhosis of the liver.

The research is published in the Nov. 1, 2010 issue of Endocrinology.

Daniel Kapusta, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, and Richard Wainford, PhD, LSUHSC Instructor of Pharmacology, report the role of these brain proteins, called Gaq and Gaz, in producing elevated secretion of the hormone, vasopressin, and water retention in salt-sensitive hypertension, a condition in which blood pressure becomes elevated when salt is consumed. It is estimated that salt-sensitive hypertension occurs in about 26% of Americans with normal blood pressure and in 58% of those whose blood pressure is already high.

"Throughout the day, vasopressin, a peptide hormone produced by the hypothalamus, is released into the circulation from the pituitary gland and plays a vital role as the flood-gate keeper to prevent excessive loss of water from the kidneys," notes Dr. Kapusta. "Under most conditions, the water-retaining action of vasopressin is vital for survival. However, it has remained essentially a black box as to why, in susceptible individuals, the regulatory mechanisms that control vasopressin secretion cannot turn off when the body already has elevated water content."

For 21-days, the research team fed groups of male salt-resistant and salt-sensitive rats a diet containing either normal or high salt. Then they measured how the treatments influenced the animal's ability to excrete water and how the salt stress altered levels of vasopressin, Gaq and Gaz.

The consumption of high salt triggered a decrease in Gaq proteins in the brain of salt-resistant, but not salt-sensitive, rats. In salt-sensitive rats, the team demonstrated that reducing brain Gaq proteins returned plasma vasopressin to normal levels, decreased salt-induced water retention, and restored the animal's ability to excrete water.

"Our findings are novel and provide evidence that the Gaq sub-unit proteins in the hypothalamus act as a molecular/cellular switch to control the level of vasopressin secretion," says Dr. Wainford.

The researchers concluded that reducing brain Gaq proteins plays a critical counter-regulatory role in preventing the secretion of too much vasopressin in those with salt-resistance and may represent a new therapeutic target in diseases associated with fluid retention.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

R. D. Wainford, D. R. Kapusta. Hypothalamic Paraventricular Nucleus Gaq Subunit Protein Pathways Mediate Vasopressin Dysregulation and Fluid Retention in Salt-Sensitive Rats. Endocrinology, 2010; 151 (11): 5403 DOI: 10.1210/en.2010-0345

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Gene therapy can reverse pulmonary hypertension, study suggests

ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2010) — A Heart and Stroke Foundation researcher has discovered what could be the first truly effective breakthrough in the diagnosis and treatment of pulmonary hypertension, a devastating, life-threatening condition which results in an enlargement of the heart.

"We have discovered an early warning system in a protein called PIM-1," Dr. Sébastien Bonnet told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2010, co-hosted by the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the Canadian Cardiovascular Society.

Dr. Bonnet has established that the PIM-1 cells can be used as markers of pulmonary hypertension.

"Blood samples were taken from patients to measure PIM-1 expression in the blood," says Dr. Bonnet, who is a professor at Laval University and a researcher at Centre hospitalier universitaire de Québec. "We were surprised to find that the greater the PIM-1 levels, the more severe the pulmonary hypertension in the patient."

He says this opens the doors to using regular blood tests to look at PIM-1 levels. "If there is a slight increase in PIM-1, we will know that something is going on." This is important since the condition is under-diagnosed and often not discovered until it is in a late stage. Without earlier treatment it has a very poor prognosis. The condition has traditionally been diagnosed by a six minute walking test.

PIM-1 also offers the opportunity to move beyond the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension to treatment. By blocking the PIM-1 protein, researchers were able to reverse the condition.

"This is a remarkable finding," says Dr. Bonnet. "We have found that using gene therapy to inhibit the inappropriate activation of this protein is a novel and effective therapy that can reverse the disease altogether."

Before this discovery there has been no agent to reverse the disease. Current drug treatments can improve quality of life but to this date there has been nothing that can cure the disease.

"Pulmonary hypertension is a rare but life-threatening condition," says Heart and Stroke Foundation spokesperson Dr. Beth Abramson. "These are often very sick individuals. By the time a patient gets to a doctor, the disease is usually well established." Individuals at increased risk of developing pulmonary hypertension include those with a family history and people with a history of blood clots in the lungs (pulmonary embolism).

She recommends that patients pay particular attention to any symptoms like shortness of breath or extreme tiredness. "There are treatments that can help patients live longer, healthier lives."

Pulmonary hypertension is abnormally high blood pressure in the pulmonary arteries, the arteries which carry blood from the heart to the lungs. The condition makes it more difficult for blood to flow to the lungs, causing shortness of breath, fatigue, and swelling of the feet and ankles. It can make everyday tasks almost impossible.

The number of Canadians with pulmonary hypertension is difficult to estimate, because it is under-diagnosed and the early symptoms are common to other conditions such as asthma and general fatigue. In addition, few studies have been conducted.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Benefit of exercise in patients with hypertension has been insufficiently investigated, experts say

ScienceDaily (Oct. 26, 2010) — There are many good reasons to ensure sufficient exercise in everyday life. However, advising patients with increased blood pressure (hypertension) to exercise regularly is often regarded as a specific medical measure aiming to reduce the increased risk of late complications. But whether more exercise actually helps to avoid illnesses related to hypertension or at least delay their onset has been insufficiently investigated. In order to provide better advice to patients with hypertension, informative clinical studies are therefore needed.

This is the result of a report published by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency and Health Care (IQWiG) on Sept. 22, 2010.

Comprehensive commission package on hypertension

This report is part of a comprehensive commission package awarded by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA) in which the benefit of various non-drug treatment strategies for essential hypertension was to be assessed. This is the most common type of hypertension, for which no clear cause can be found.

People with increased blood pressure receive much well-meant advice, for example, to adopt stress-management strategies, smoke less and drink less alcohol. These measures are also recommended in clinical practice guidelines. IQWiG has already completed reports on the questions as to how a reduction in weight and salt intake affect blood pressure.

What should "more exercise" achieve?

Patients with hypertension have an increased risk of certain diseases of the heart and circulatory system. Strokes, heart attacks and also kidney failure are more common in people with hypertension than in those without this disorder.

The researchers at IQWiG were therefore particularly interested firstly, to know whether people with hypertension, by exercising more, can actually reduce the risk of heart attacks or stroke, for example, and secondly, to determine how more exercise affects their health-related quality of life.

Studies included only a few participants

The researchers searched for studies in which volunteers with hypertension had been randomly assigned to two groups. Patients in the intervention group had been advised to exercise more over a longer period of time (e.g. cycling, running, hiking, swimming), while those in the control group had not been given this advice. In addition, only studies lasting 24 weeks or more were considered.

Overall, IQWiG and its external experts included 8 randomized controlled trials lasting 6 to 12 months in the assessment. The studies were relatively small; most included a maximum of 20 people per study group. In addition, most studies were prone to bias, which greatly limited their informative value.

Side effects not investigated

As the assessment showed, the studies considered in the report allow no conclusions on patient-relevant aspects of the benefit of increased physical activity in hypertension. The studies did not provide sufficient results, neither on mortality, disease of the heart and circulatory system (cardiovascular morbidity), and kidney failure (end-stage renal disease), nor on health-related quality of life. Sufficient data were also lacking on side effects (adverse events): as many elderly patients suffer from hypertension they could potentially have a higher risk of falling or injuring themselves.

Systolic blood pressure lowered

In contrast, in all studies the effects of exercise on blood pressure were analysed. The data show that increased physical activity could lower the systolic (higher) value by 5 to 8 mmHg. In contrast, no differences between treatment groups were shown for the diastolic (lower) value. However, the researchers cannot safely predict whether the reduction in the systolic value is long term and what the effects on health are. A reduction in blood pressure is an indication that the risk of late complications may be diminished. However, it is well-known with regard to drugs that even if medications are similarly effective in reducing blood pressure, they may still fail to prevent late complications such as heart damage equally well, and also produce different side effects.

In addition, it could not be concluded from the studies whether participants could reduce the intake of blood-pressure lowering medications through exercising more often.

Advice on lifestyle changes also investigated in studies

"To avoid misunderstandings: our conclusion is not that more exercise is useless or even harmful," says Professor Dr. med. Jürgen Windeler, IQWiG's Director. "However, it is a sobering fact that medications to lower blood pressure have been tested in dozens of large studies but we still know little about the advantages and disadvantages of physical activity, even though national and international professional associations have recommended this measure for a long time." This imbalance should be corrected. "Advising patients with hypertension to exercise more will often mean a substantial change in their life style; patients should know whether they benefit from this."

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Adherence course reduces hypertension

ScienceDaily (Feb. 16, 2011) — A high proportion of patients with high blood pressure are failing to take their medication properly and would benefit clinically from a course of 'adherence therapy', according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA).

High blood pressure -- or hypertension -- is one of the major cardiovascular diseases worldwide. It leads to stroke and heart disease and costs more than $300 billion each year. Around a quarter of the adult population is affected -- including 10 million people in the UK.

Around half of patients with hypertension fail to reduce their blood pressure because they are not taking their prescribed medication correctly. Some cease taking their medication altogether, others only take some of it, and others do not follow the instructions to take their medicine after food, for example.

The reasons for this non-adherence are complex and include ambivalence about taking drugs, concerns over side effects, and complexity of treatment regimes. Previous attempts to improve adherence with information leaflets, monthly outpatient visits, reminders and self-monitoring have been shown to be mostly ineffective.

The UEA resesarchers studied 136 patients with high blood pressure in three outpatient clinics in Jordan. Half were given a course of seven weekly 'adherence therapy' sessions and half continued with their usual treatment. The 20-minute face-to-face sessions allowed a trained clinician to provide tailored information about the illness and treatment, and explore the patient's individual beliefs, fears and lifestyle.

Published February 16 in the Journal of Human Hypertension, the results show that the patients given adherence therapy took 97 per cent of their medications (compared with only 71 per cent for those given treatment as usual) and, on average, reduced their blood pressure by around 14 per cent -- taking it to just above the healthy range.

Lead author Prof Richard Gray of UEA's School of Nursing and Midwifery said: "Our findings suggest a clear clinical benefit in these patient-centred sessions.

"High blood pressure affects millions of people in both the developed and developing world and the problem is likely to increase dramatically over the next 15 years. Tackling the widespread failure to take medication correctly would lead to a major reduction in stroke and heart disease.

"If adherence therapy were a new drug it would be hailed as a potentially major advance in hypertension treatment."

Adherence therapy was originally developed by Prof Gray for patients with mental health problems who failed to take their medication correctly. The total cost of delivering a course of seven weekly sessions is calculated to be approximately £80 per person. Although the UEA study was not designed to formally evaluate cost effectiveness, other studies predict that a long-term reduction of blood pressure would lead to a reduction in stroke of 56 per cent and a reduction in chronic heart disease of 37 per cent -- suggesting that adherence therapy would likely be a cost-effective intervention.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of East Anglia, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

Fadwa Allalaiqa, Katherine Deane, Ahmed Nawafleh, Allan Clark and Richard Gray. Adherence therapy for medication non-compliant patients with hypertension: a randomised controlled trial. Journal of Human Hypertension, February 17 2011

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Blood pressure checks performed by barbers improve hypertension control in African-American men

ScienceDaily (Oct. 26, 2010) — Neighborhood barbers, by conducting a monitoring, education and physician-referral program, can help their African-American customers better control high blood pressure problems that pose special health risks for them, a new study from the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute shows.

The study -- the first to subject increasingly popular barbershop-based health programs to a scientific scrutiny with randomized, controlled testing -- demonstrates the haircutters' heart health efforts work well enough that they could save hundreds of lives annually, according to results to be published online in Archives of Internal Medicine in the peer-reviewed medical journal's Feb. 28, 2011, print issue.

In the research -- led by Ronald G. Victor, MD, a hypertension expert and associate director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute -- barbers for 10 months offered blood pressure checks during men's haircuts and promoted physician follow-up with personalized health education for customers with high blood pressure. This enhanced screening program markedly improved blood pressure levels among the barbershops' patrons. Although blood pressure levels also fell in a comparison group whose members received only educational brochures about high blood pressure, the improvement was greater in the barber-assisted group.

Uncontrolled hypertension is one of the most prevalent causes of premature disability and death among African-Americans. African-American men have the highest death rate from hypertension of any race, ethnic and gender group in the United States -- three times higher than white men.

"What we learned from this trial is that the benefits of intensive blood pressure screening are enhanced when barbers are empowered to become healthcare extenders to help combat this epidemic of the silent killer in their community"," said Victor, the Burns and Allen Chair in Cardiology Research. "Barbers, whose historical predecessors were barber-surgeons, are a unique work force of potential community health advocates because of their loyal clientele."

Since the 1980s, African-American-owned barbershops and hair salons have hosted screening programs for medical conditions that disproportionately affect African-Americans. Victor's study concludes that if hypertension intervention programs were put in place in the estimated 18,000 African-American barbershops in the U.S., it would result in the first year in about 800 fewer heart attacks, 550 fewer strokes and 900 fewer deaths.

Seventeen African-American-owned barbershops in Dallas and approximately 1,300 male patrons with confirmed hypertension participated in this study, which ran from March, 2006, to December, 2008, when Victor was professor of medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

All African-American men patronizing the participating shops were offered baseline blood pressure screenings for hypertension. The shops then were assigned randomly to the intervention or comparison group.

Barbers at the nine shops in the intervention group were trained to measure blood pressure properly and they offered free checks with every cut. If a customer's reading was high, the barber encouraged him to see his doctor, and, if he did not, the barber called the study's nursing staff to arrange a physician visit. The customer, in turn, got a free haircut if he returned to the shop with a doctor-signed referral card.

In the eight shops in the comparison group, customers received a blood pressure check at the study's outset, and then were offered standard educational pamphlets about hypertension.

At the study's conclusion, 20 percent more hypertensive patrons in the intervention group had their blood pressure controlled with medication compared to 10 percent in the control group.

"We need further exploration to make this kind of program scalable and sustainable," said Victor, who is launching a new study with African-American barbershops in Southern California. "If this kind of program could be applied to large numbers of African-American men, that would be an enormous asset in preventing heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure and other serious complications of hypertension,"

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Journal Reference:

Ronald G. Victor; Joseph E. Ravenell; Anne Freeman; David Leonard; Deepa G. Bhat; Moiz Shafiq; Patricia Knowles; Joy S. Storm; Emily Adhikari; Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo; Pamela G. Coxson; Mark J. Pletcher; Peter Hannan; Robert W. Haley. Effectiveness of a Barber-Based Intervention for Improving Hypertension Control in Black Men: The BARBER-1 Study: A Cluster Randomized Trial. Archives of Internal Medicine, 2010; DOI: 10.1001/archinternmed.2010.390

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Researchers find rising levels of hypertension in older Mexican-Americans

ScienceDaily (Jan. 13, 2011) — A new study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston reveals that the prevalence of hypertension in older Mexican-Americans living in the Southwest region of the United States has increased slightly in the last decade.

Researchers suspect the rise is due, in part, to the increase in diabetes and obesity.

Although hypertension, or high blood pressure, is one of the most common diseases in the United States, affecting more than 72 million Americans, it is one of the most manageable risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Advancements in the diagnosis, treatment and control of hypertension have been major contributors to the decline in cardiovascular mortality in recent decades.

"We always expect that things are improving, right?" said Kyriakos S. Markides, co-author and principal investigator of the study, which has been funded by the National Institute on Aging since 1992. "But now we're finding that, in the more recent study participants, they're more disabled, have more diabetes, have slightly more obesity and slightly more hypertension."

The study, which appears in the January issue of the Annals of Epidemiology, looked at 3,952 older Mexican-Americans residing in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona and California. A group of 3,050 men and women, 65 and older, were evaluated in 1993-1994, and an additional 902 men and women, 75 and older, were added in 2004-2005. Researchers interviewed the study subjects and took health measurements every two to three years.

The hypertension prevalence rates were significantly different in 1993-1994 compared with 2004-2005 (73 percent vs. 78.4 percent, respectively). The increase in hypertension prevalence was significant for subjects 75 to 79 years, for U.S.-born subjects, for subjects with diabetes and for the obese.

Self-reported hypertension was assessed by asking subjects if a doctor had ever told them that they had high blood pressure. Blood pressure readings were taken by interviewers during in-home visits. Participants were asked to provide the containers of the medications taken in the two weeks prior to the interview, and drug names were recorded.

Subjects were considered hypertensive if they had been told by a physician that they had hypertension, if they had an average systolic blood pressure of 140 mm Hg or higher or an average diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg or higher, or if they were taking antihypertensive medications.

While overall hypertension awareness was significantly higher in 2004-2005 than in 1993-1994 (82.6 percent vs. 63 percent, respectively), diabetic and obese subjects were more likely to be hypertensive in 2004-2005 than in 1993-1994.

There's good news and bad news, said Markides. "The bad news is the prevalence of hypertension went up -- not a huge increase, but up nonetheless -- due in part to obesity and diabetes. The good news is that the hypertension is better controlled because of increased awareness and better management."

Hispanics living in the United States are expected to number 120 million by 2050. "This is a long-living population with increasing rates of disability, diabetes and chronic disease," said Markides.

"More effort should be targeted to reverse trends of both obesity and diabetes as potential causes of increases in hypertension," wrote Markides and his collaborators. "Further investigations should be directed toward providing clear guidelines and goals for hypertension treatment and control in the very old to improve hypertension outcomes in this population."

The study's researchers include Markides, Yong-Fang Kuo, Soham Al Snih, Mukaila A. Raji and Laura A. Ray from UTMB Health, and Majd Al Ghatrif from Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Md., formerly a visiting fellow at UTMB.

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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Hypertension Patients Should Pay Attention to Daily Diets

Modern medical research has found out that, during the spring, people are vulnerable to many diseases, such as the fluctuation of blood pressure, headache, dizziness, insomnia and other symptoms. As a result, in addition to taking moderate exercise and medicine, people with hypertension should also pay great attention to daily diet.

First of all, eat more fresh vegetables and fruits.
According to the report, eating more fresh fruits and vegetables can significantly decrease the risk of stroke. Citrus, fruit juice, carrot, celery, cucumber, cabbage and other green leafy vegetables all have a protective effect on cardiovascular, so they can always eat these foods.

Secondly, control the intake of salt.
Too much salt will aggravate the disease. Generally speaking, the patients with hypertension should control the daily intake of salt between 4 to 6 grams. But they should pay attention to increase the intake of potassium at the same time. This is because potassium can protect the cardiac cells. Foods such as amaranth, spinach, tomato, bitter gourd, yam all contain a large number of potassium.

Thirdly, control the intake of cholesterol and fatty acids.
Eat less greasy foods, especially animal fats, and limit the intake of all animal organs (such as heart, liver, kidney), fatty meat, butter, egg yolk and other foods which are rich in cholesterol and fatty acids. They can appropriately take in some plant oil such as peanut oil and corn oil. At the same time, in order to avoid increasing the burden on the kidney, do not take in too much protein.

Fourthly, keep away from smoking and alcohol.
The nicotine in cigarette may stimulate the heart, accelerate the heart rate, thus leading to high blood pressure. What's more, nicotine can also promote the deposition of cholesterol on the vascular wall, which may increase the chance of coronary heart disease and stroke. Drinking a small amount of alcohol can increase the level of high-density lipoprotein in blood, so it can prevent atherosclerosis. While excessive drinking high-degree alcohol not only may accelerate the risk of atherosclerosis, but also has a resistant effect on the antihypertensive medicine.

Fifthly, choose a reasonable and healthy diet.
There are many kinds of foods which have the effect of bringing down the blood pressure, such as chrysanthemum, seaweed, celery, black fungus, and so on. These foods contain plenty of protein, cellulose, glucose, fructose, etc, so they can be taken as the medical food for hypertension and diabetics.

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Hypertension - Can Kill

There are two forms of hypertension, the Primary form, also known as Essential Hypertension, and the Malignant form. Essential hypertension is the type that can be inherited; however there can be other factors involved, such as environmental, vascular, nutritional, and the stresses of daily living. When left untreated essential hypertension can develop into the malignant form. The malignant form of hypertension is due to malfunctioning or diseased kidneys; however there can be other causes.

It is estimated that there can be more than 50 million people suffering from hypertension in the United States. The aging of the population can guarantee that these numbers will be rising steadily. Nearly 25% of whites and 50% of blacks over age 65 have high blood pressure. Many of these people are not aware that they have high blood pressure. If left untreated, these are the people that are seriously at risk for heart attack or stroke.

Normal range for blood pressure is 120mm Hg systolic and 80mm Hg diastolic. There is an allowable 10mm Hg plus (+) or minus (-) from these numbers. Over the age of 60 a systolic somewhat higher is acceptable. A systolic over 140mm Hg is considered a stage 1 high blood pressure.

Having a sustained high blood pressure can lead to heart attack or stroke. The importance of knowing your blood pressure is paramount. Many people have no idea what their pressure is. It is recommended that an individual check their blood pressure on a weekly basis. Many Drug Stores have blood pressure machines so that anyone can check their blood pressure for free. There are also very sophisticated blood pressure monitors that can be purchased so that the individual can keep track of their own pressure at home.

The easiest of such units is the wrist monitor, with which you can check your pressure in about a minute. With this monitor you can check your pressure, once or more daily if need be. It is also very helpful to keep a log of your daily pressure, taking it in the morning and then again in the evening. If you find a sustained elevation of blood pressure above the normal after 2-3 readings on 3 separate days, you should see your doctor for an evaluation. Showing him/her your log will prove very helpful.

Knowing what your blood pressure is will motivate you in making the necessary changes to correct whatever the causes are. Read more about changes that are absolutely needed in the health hints below.

Health Hints: Correcting high blood pressure must start with correcting your lifestyle. First look to your nutrition. What you eat plays a very significant part in controlling blood pressure. Reducing your salt intake is of prime importance. Try to limit salt to 2-3 grams per day. Do not use the saltshaker and be sure to read the labels on the foods you eat. Frozen meals generally contain more salt than is allowed in your daily requirement. Canned vegetables are also generally high in salt content. Limit your intake of red meats to once weekly. A portion should consist of 3 ounces or about the size of the palm of your hand.

Limit the use of dairy products and cut them out as much as possible. Increase your intake of fruits and vegetables. Try to have at least five or more servings per day. Instead of eating 3 large meals per day, you may find it more satisfying in eating 5 smaller meals during the day. Next, you must look to your weight. Anyone 10 to 20 lbs or more over- weight must make every effort to lose that weight. Losing this weight can significantly impact your blood pressure, and very possibly return it to a normal level.

Anyone who drinks alcohol must reduce his or her alcohol intake. Men should have no more than two drinks per day. Women should have no more than one drink per day. If you smoke, you must stop by any means possible. There are nutritional supplements that may prove helpful as well. Garlic has been shown to be helpful in reducing blood pressure. Calcium and magnesium supplementation can be of value. Flaxseed oil and Coenzyme Q10 are other supplements that can be of great value. Flax Seed used two to three times daily can be added to cereal, shakes, etc. Flax seed contains alpha-linolenic acid, which is an essential fatty acid that is necessary for blood pressure regulation. Flax seed also contains lignans, which are compounds with antioxidant-like properties. PLEASE NOTE: you should discuss with your healthcare provider before using any of the above supplements, or making changes in your diet.

Next and most important, is starting an exercise program. That too should be discussed with your healthcare provider. Being a "couch potato" is the most detrimental thing that impacts all facets of your life. Find an exercise program that suits your lifestyle, one that you can dedicate yourself too. Being happy and at ease with the program is extremely important, because the average individual who starts an exercise program will give up sometime within 3 months. If you can remain with the program for over 3 months, chances are, you will stick with the program. This can change your entire lifestyle, keeping you vigorous and vital throughout your senior years.

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Dealing With Hypertension And High Blood Pressure

Middle-aged men and women often tend to put on a lot of weight as they become more lethargic and do not exercise as regularly. Unlike during the younger days, our bodies may not respond to all the stress and strain. The metabolic system may not be strong enough to handle all the problems caused by us.

Since our metabolism slows down with age and our workload becomes comparatively less burdensome, the extra calories start to accumulate around the waist and thigh areas. But this situation can be avoided if we pay more attention and exercise regularly while maintaining a healthy diet regime. If we neglect our body, there is every possibility that we may develop the dreaded condition known as hypertension or blood pressure.

If blood pressure is not treated with a lot of care, you might become a chronic patient who will have to remain on medication for the rest of your life. There are many people who do not mind taking pills regularly to combat hypertension but for those who do not like taking tablets regularly and looking for a way out of this condition, I have listed a few points to counter this disease.

The first step in the right direction is to bring down your weight to the appropriate level. A dietitian or your GP can explain what this means. Most of your actions should be health based and result in making you healthy. Hence it becomes essential for overweight or fat people to exercise more regularly, and this is the best method of reducing the blood pressure.

If you happen to be a person who does not physically exert yourself, you should try walking. It is a great form of exercise and if you can walk for thirty minutes, twice a day, you will realize and experience the immense pleasure and relief. Apart from helping you lose weight, your blood pressure will be brought down and your internal organs will be nicely massaged. Swimming regularly has similar effects and can be as effective. Reducing salt intake is a very effective method of losing weight.

But salt is essential to human body and hence you may seek the advice of a dietitian in this regard. Regular consumption of excess salt can be altered by using herbs and spices instead. Some other factors that may escalate your blood pressure are smoking and drinking excessively.

You need to give up these potentially dangerous habits in order to bring down your blood pressure. Any or all of the above mentioned points will certainly help you bring down your blood pressure.

But if you are a chronic blood pressure patient or suffering from very high blood pressure, you may need to combine all the above mentioned points after consulting your doctor.

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Hypertension Diet

If you were to look up a diet for Hypertension , you would probably come across the dash diet online,the DASH diet is a great diet I have lost 20 pounds ,and I feel better and stronger and healthier,because of it ,I feel I can cope with living with hypertension,I will provide the link to the free primer I found online
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf
hope this helps you in your fight with hypertension!!!

There is also tons of stuff on amazon.

Holistic Treatment for High Blood Pressure - Proven Remedies for Hypertension

Most people treat it as a mere symptom or a condition, but unknown to them, a mere symptom or condition can pave the way for serious conditions, ranging from heart ailments to kidney failures. At times, it can even lead to a heart attack, and the person still would not know what caused it.

A trip to the doctor, such as undergoing a routine general check-up annually may help prevent this situation. However, what if the doctor tells us we are hypertensive? Normally, medications are prescribed, which can be quite costly since we will be taking this for a certain period. Thus, we might consider pursuing a holistic treatment for high blood pressure, meaning, we should consider the body in its entirety in tending to this illness.

Though it cannot totally cure a person of his hypertension, pursuing this kind of treatment will help control high systolic pressure, and at the same time reduce the probability of taking medications for a very long period of time. Again, this holistic treatment for high blood pressure only serves to supplement, meaning, the doctor's order is still very important.

Obesity is one of the factors which lead to hypertension. This would mean pursuing an exercise regimen or performing daily workouts, coupled with a balanced diet to tone down that body weight. It is also recommended that the diet be concentrated more on vegetables and foods rich in fiber, as statistics show that only a handful of vegetarians suffer high blood pressure. Naturally, people should likewise start toning down on eating fatty foods or even cut their alcohol-drinking and smoking habits. Even with a good diet and daily exercise regimen, if we do not do our part in cutting down the factors which contribute to hypertension, then the efforts would be put to naught.

We can also consider practicing meditation or yoga, or even just get a health massage in order tone down and relax those muscles so our body would feel at rest and we can get a good night's sleep. Others even resort to acupuncture to relieve those tense muscles. In this manner, stress, which is one of the factors which contribute to high blood pressure, is greatly reduced to a significant degree. In the end, a healthy lifestyle is what can prevent us from experiencing hypertension symptoms.

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High Blood Pressure: Hypertension - The Silent Killer

High blood pressure (HBP) or hypertension is known as the silent killer because most people who have these conditions don't even know they have it. Most people have no clue. Hypertension usually develops first and if not corrected usually leads to a chronic condition known as high blood pressure.

These conditions are normally diagnosed by your doctor or self testing at home. A couple of numbers you'll hear your doctor or nurse mention when testing you is systolic and diastolic pressures. In other words the first number the nurse reads out to you is the systolic and the second number is the diastolic. 110 over 70 he or she might say. The first number (systolic) is the blood pressure during the heart beat. The second number (diastolic) is the blood pressure between the heart beats.

The American Heart Association states that the ideal pressure is below 120 over 80. Your pressure will fluctuate throughout the day depending on your activity level. Ideally you'll want to take your pressure reading first thing in the morning after a good nights rest and before you eat or drink anything.

Sometimes there is no identifiable cause for these conditions. This is known as essential hypertension or high blood pressure. The American Heart Association defines HBP as a reading consistently elevated at 140 and or above for the systolic reading and 90 or above for the diastolic reading. A reading of 140 over 90 would put you in the category of having HBP.

Many factors will affect your pressure such as the amount of water in your body, salt, hormone levels as well as the condition of your blood vessels, kidneys and your nervous system. Usually the condition has no symptoms at all and that's exactly why it's been called the silent killer. You may experience a headache now and then with elevated blood pressure. It's very important to check your blood pressure often to catch a high blood pressure condition.

If you experience any of these symptoms get seen by a doctor right away to find out what's going on.
tired all the time after getting enough sleepAnxietyPale or red skinpain in your chest or a heavy crushing feeling

Usually no symptoms present themselves so get yourself checked regularly.

Treatment normally consists of lifestyle changes such as weight loss if you're overweight, eating a diet rich in fish, chicken, fruits and veggies along with regular exercise. Simply walking is a great exercise for the heart. Many times this will be enough but if it's not then you'll have to take a medication or two to keep this very serious condition in check. There are over 200 medicines available to treat this condition. If you don't have insurance or a prescription benefit then buying medicine on a regular basis can present some problems.

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Body mass index at age 17 within the normal range can predict future risk for hypertension in later life

ScienceDaily (July 27, 2010) — Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers reveal in a new, large-scale study that "normal" blood pressure at age 17 can still predict hypertension at early adulthood and that teenage boys are three to four times more likely to develop high blood pressure in early adulthood than girls.

According to the study published in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association, the research team assessed how teenage boys and girls with normal blood pressure might progress into becoming young adults with hypertension. Currently, systolic blood pressures of 100 to 110 and even up to 120 are considered within the normal range for adolescents. Other traits like weight, height and body mass index (BMI) have a range of distribution that is considered "normal."

"Frequently called the 'silent killer,' hypertension is a major risk factor for heart disease and vascular diseases like stroke," explains researcher Dr. Assaf Rudich, an associate professor in the Department of Clinical Biochemistry at BGU. "It is increasing along with the obesity epidemic, but regrettably, young adults who are otherwise healthy frequently are not screened for becoming hypertensive."

The BGU researchers examined the development of blood pressure from adolescence to young adulthood in 23,191 boys and 3,789 girls from ages 17 to 42 by taking regular readings of their blood pressure and BMI of Israel Defense Forces personnel who were not hypertensive at age 17 in their initial evaluation before recruitment.

The study revealed two substantive findings:

In boys, there is a strong correlation between blood pressure and BMI at age 17. This means that while the blood pressure reading may be in the "normal range," there is a greater risk for hypertension when BMI is also evaluated. The rate of progression to hypertension is higher in boys whose systolic blood pressure is 110 versus those whose blood pressure is 100.For girls, only the sub-group considered obese had substantially higher risk of high blood pressure. The researchers believe that estrogen may protect against hypertension.

The study also confirmed several known observations:

Seventeen-year-old boys have higher blood pressure than their female counter parts.Boys are three to four times more likely to develop hypertension as young adults and the higher the blood pressure value, even within the normal range, the higher is the risk for becoming hypertensive adults.

During a follow-up period with these adolescents, 14 percent or 3,810 people developed hypertension.

"Collectively, the study suggests that pediatricians caring for adolescents and physicians caring for young adults should be more aware of the need to monitor weight and blood pressure even when they are considered "normal," explains Dr. Iris Shai, an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology in the Faculty of Health and Sciences. "For the individual person, a 'normal value' may still be associated with a significant elevated risk of disease when the BMI and sex of the patient is also considered."

Participants were part of the Metabolic, Lifestyle and Nutrition Assessment in Young Adults (MELANY) Study conducted by the Israel Defense Forces.

The Talpiot Medical Leadership Program, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer Israel and the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps funded the study.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Definition of Hypertension

The definition hypertension:
I thought this would be just a little post to explain to some that dont truly know what hypertension is about. I know Wikipedia is not the final answer to anything I did like its definition of the word:hypertension so here it goes:

Hypertension (HTN) or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. It is the opposite of hypotension. Hypertension is classified as either primary (essential) or secondary. About 90–95% of cases are termed "primary hypertension", which refers to high blood pressure for which no medical cause has been found.^[1] The remaining 5–10% of cases (Secondary hypertension) are caused by other conditions that affect the kidneys, arteries, heart, or endocrine system.^[2]

Persistent hypertension is one of the risk factors for stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure and arterial aneurysm, and is a leading cause of chronic kidney failure.^[3] Moderate elevation of arterial blood pressure leads to shortened life expectancy. Dietary and lifestyle changes can improve blood pressure control and decrease the risk of associated health complications, although drug treatment may prove necessary in patients for whom lifestyle changes prove ineffective or insufficient.^[4]

That was a well put definition of hypertension.

Common hypertension drugs can raise blood pressure in certain patients

ScienceDaily (Aug. 19, 2010) — AlbCommonly prescribed drugs used to lower blood pressure can actually have the opposite effect -- raising blood pressure in a statistically significant percentage of patients. A new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University suggests that doctors could avoid this problem -- and select drugs most suitable for their patients -- by measuring blood levels of the enzyme renin through a blood test that is becoming more widely available.

The study appears in the online edition of the American Journal of Hypertension.

"Our findings suggest that physicians should use renin levels to predict the most appropriate first drug for treating patients with hypertension," says lead author Michael Alderman, M.D., professor of epidemiology & population health and of medicine at Einstein. "This would increase the likelihood of achieving blood pressure control and reduce the need for patients to take additional antihypertensive medications."

The study involved 945 patients who were enrolled in a workplace antihypertensive treatment program in New York City from 1981 to 1998. All had a systolic blood pressure (SBP) of at least 140 mmHg. SBP, the top number in the blood pressure reading, represents the amount of force that blood exerts on the walls of blood vessels when the heart contracts. No patients were receiving treatment for high blood pressure before enrolling in the study.

The patients were given a single antihypertensive medication, either a diuretic or a calcium channel blocker (so-called "V" drugs, which lower blood volume) or a beta blocker or an ACE inhibitor ("R" drugs, which lower levels of renin, an enzyme secreted by the kidneys that plays a key role in maintaining blood pressure).

Plasma renin activity (PRA) and SBP were measured at enrollment, and SBP was measured again after one to three months of treatment. The renin level predicted those patients who were most likely to have a favorable response with either an R or a V drug. In addition, for both R and V drugs, the renin test was able to identify those patients most likely to experience a "pressor response" -- a clinically significant increase in SBP of 10 mmHg or more.

Overall, 7.7 percent of the patients exhibited a pressor response. The highest percentage of pressor responses -- 16 percent -- occurred in patients with low renin levels who were given a beta blocker or an ACE inhibitor (R drugs).

"Every clinician knows that there's a variation in response to antihypertensive treatment, and that some patients will have an elevation in blood pressure," says Dr. Alderman, a former president of the American Society of Hypertension. "The latter phenomenon is generally attributed to patients' failure to take their medications or to a random event. But these data show that it's not a random event -- it's due to a mismatch between the patients' renin status and the drug. We think it makes sense to use renin to predict the most appropriate treatment."

Dr. Alderman says that two groups of patients might especially benefit from having their renin levels measured: patients being prescribed antihypertensive drugs for the first time and patients who are taking multiple antihypertensive drugs when one or two might work just as well. "With renin testing, you will more often get blood pressure under control with less therapy," he adds.

PRA testing has long been used to help determine the underlying cause of a patient's hypertension (i.e. whether it's due to constricted blood vessels or too much blood volume, or both), which can help guide therapy. "The problem was that the test was expensive and difficult to perform accurately," says Dr. Alderman. "However, the methodology for measuring PRA is getting better and the test is becoming more widely available."

In an accompanying editorial, Morris J. Brown, M.D., professor of clinical pharmacology at the University of Cambridge School of Medicine in England, wrote, "The role of renin measurement may be to detect the extremes, and to reach rational treatment in those not controlled by standard combination [drug therapy]. Many hormones are measured on rather less reason and evidence than plasma renin, the 'oldest' of them all; its place in routine management of hypertension has at last arrived."

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Albert Einstein College of Medicine, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

Alderman et al. Pressor Responses to Antihypertensive Drug Types. American Journal of Hypertension, 2010; DOI: 10.1038/ajh.2010.114

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Potential treatment for pulmonary hypertension discovered

ScienceDaily (Aug. 12, 2010) — Researchers in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta are one step closer to a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension, a potentially deadly disease.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension, which is high blood pressure in the lungs, currently has only a few treatment options, but most cases lead to premature death. It is caused by a cancer-like excessive growth of cells in the wall of the lung blood vessels. It causes the lumen, the path where blood travels, to constrict putting pressure on the right ventricle of the heart which eventually leads to heart failure.

Evangelos Michelakis, his graduate student Gopinath Sutendra and a group of collaborators have found that this excessive cell growth can be reversed by targeting the mitochondria of the cell, which control metabolism of the cell and initiate cell death.

By using dichloroacetate (DCA) or Trimetazidine (TMZ), mitochondria targeted drugs, the activity of the mitochondria increases which helps induce cell death and regresses pulmonary hypertension in an animal model, says Sutendra.

Current therapies only look at dilating the constricted vessels rather than regression, so this is a very exciting advancement for the lab.

"In the pulmonary hypertension field they're really looking for new therapies to regress the disease, it might be the wave of the future," said Sutendra. "The other thing that is really exciting is that TMZ and DCA have been used clinically in patients so it's something that can be used right away in these patients."

Clinical trials are expected to be the next step. Michelakis is currently working with a college in the United Kingdom to have patients with pulmonary hypertension take DCA.

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by University of Alberta, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Hypertension King- How to Lower Blood Pressure Naturally

The only complete blood pressure reduction solution.

Check it out!

Informative Hypertension vid

Natural remedies for hypertension

High blood pressure resources are sought by many people to stop this murderer silent attack. And since no symptoms until a doctor discovered, many people have it and not even know. Every year people are diagnosed with various conditions as a result of high blood pressure. This still means that many people in the United States are at risk of heart disease, heart attack, stroke and other problems and do not realize.

High blood pressure makes the heart work harder and thus increasing the strain on the heart and arteries. Hypertension can be caused by many things, but whether the use natural resources healthy and high blood pressure, you can keep your blood pressure safely controlled.

How healthy high blood pressure remedies can help

Ask about any prescription drug and one of the first things you get is the laundry list of side effects that accompany them. Of course, medication can help your hypertension, but at what cost?

* Weakness or leg cramps due to loss of potassium
* Increased level of blood sugar
* Possible impotence
Insomnia
* Depression
* Rash
* Dizziness
* Constipation

And these are not all! Would not you prefer a natural remedy high blood pressure to help normalize your blood pressure? And with all natural ingredients that can help improve blood flow and improve your cardiovascular system without the associated side effects of prescription drugs.

High blood pressure remedies and lifestyle changes

Hypertension is the result of many factors. You can take control of it, however, and stabilize your blood pressure, along with taking natural resources of high blood pressure to help. The following are ways to ensure healthy levels of pressure.

* Reduce your intake of sodium. This includes processed foods such as sausages, salami and cold cuts, and many snack foods like potato chips.
* Exercise regularly. Aerobic exercise helps to maintain cardiovascular fitness and muscle tone to help.
* Reduce caffeine consumption. As a stimulant that makes your heart race and cause other potential problems such as insomnia.
* Drink plenty of water.
* Increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in your diet.
* Try techniques to relieve stress. These include meditation, the practice of slow breathing, taking some time each day to be relaxed and unhurried, and even trying to be more optimistic in general.
* Be aware of what you eat. Make it a habit to read food labels.
* Try to maintain a healthy weight. Too much body mass puts more stress on the heart and increases its pressure.

Conclusion

These are steps to a healthy heart and healthy blood readings. With the natural resources of high blood pressure to supplement their efforts, you will not have to watch out for unwanted complications in the future.

hypertension

hypertension
Originally uploaded by _jaims

This should be the warning on salt!!!