Number of Pregnant Women with High Blood Pressure spiked over last four decades
October 10, 2019
Dallas, TX – The number of women with high blood pressure (HBP) when they become pregnant or who have it diagnosed during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy has spiked in the United States over the last four decades, especially among black women, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension.
Women getting pregnant later in life contributes to this upward trend. (American Heart Association)
Temps up, blood pressures down in hot yoga study
September 27, 2019
New Orleans, LA – Taking hot yoga classes lowered blood pressure in a small study of adults with elevated or stage 1 hypertension, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension 2019 Scientific Sessions.
While there is evidence of regular, room-temperature yoga’s positive effect on blood pressure, little is known about hot yoga’s potential impact on blood pressure, according to the study researchers.
Dr. Hunter is assistant professor and lab director, Cardiovascular Physiology Lab, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas. (Stacy Hunter)
American Heart Association reports Energy Drinks may increase risk of Heart Function Abnormalities, Blood Pressure Changes
June 24, 2019
Dallas, TX – According to a small study published in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association, drinking 32 ounces of an energy drink in a short time span may increase blood pressure and the risk of electrical disturbances in the heart. This can affect heart rhythm.
Three to four hours after drinking 32 ounces of energy drinks, the heart’s electrical activity was abnormal compared to drinking a placebo drink. (American Heart Association)
Combining morning exercise with short walking breaks helps control blood pressure in older overweight/obese adults
April 1, 2019
American Heart Association Hypertension Journal Report
Dallas, TX – Thirty minutes of morning exercise lowers blood pressure for the rest of the day among older men and women who are overweight or obese. And women who take brief, frequent breaks from sitting throughout the day can enhance the blood pressure benefits of morning exercise even more, according to new research published in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension.
Women who are overweight or obese enhanced the beneficial effects of morning exercise to reduce blood pressure by adding three-minute breaks from sitting every half hour throughout the day. (American Heart Association)
Children with Food Insecurity at risk for High Blood Pressure
October 2, 2018
American Heart Association Meeting Report
Chicago, IL – Kids with food insecurity, meaning they lack good access to nutritional foods, were more likely to have high blood pressure than kids with secure access to food, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association’s Joint Hypertension 2018 Scientific Sessions.
“High blood pressure — even in childhood — matters,” said study author Andrew Michael South, M.D., assistant professor of pediatric nephrology at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Blood pressure cuff on a child. (American Heart Association)
Obesity in Young Women may set the stage for Heart Complications during and after Pregnancy
August 17, 2018
American Heart Association Meeting Report
San Antonio, TX – Even in young women, obesity may potentially lead to heart complications during and after pregnancy, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions, a premier global exchange of the latest advances in basic cardiovascular science.
Obesity is a risk factor for preeclampsia, a type of dangerous high blood pressure that can occur during the second half of pregnancy and leaves women more prone to high blood pressure and heart disease later in life.
Obesity may potentially lead to preeclampsia, a form of dangerous high blood pressure that can occur during the second half of pregnancy. (American Heart Association)
August 16, 2018
American Heart Association Circulation Journal Report
Dallas, TX – Even as a young adult, being overweight may cause higher blood pressure and thicken heart muscle, setting the stage for heart disease later in life, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation.
The study is the first to explore if higher body mass index (BMI) – a weight-for-height index – results in adverse effects on the cardiovascular system in young adults.
Being overweight may cause higher blood pressure and changes to the heart’s structure, even in young adults. (American Heart Association)
Most Black Adults have High Blood Pressure before age 55
July 19, 2018
Journal of the American Heart Association Report
Dallas, TX – Approximately 75 percent of black and men women are likely to develop high blood pressure by the age of 55, compared to 55 percent of white men and 40 percent of white women in the same age range, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.
Man checking blood pressure at office kiosk. (American Heart Association)
Higher Blood Pressure before Pregnancy may Increase Miscarriage Risk
May 2, 2018
Hypertension Journal Report
Dallas, TX – Elevated blood pressure before becoming pregnant and early in pregnancy may increase the risk of pregnancy loss, even if the woman doesn’t have a hypertension diagnosis, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension.
“Elevated blood pressure among young adults is associated with a higher risk of heart disease later in life, and this study suggests it may also have an effect on reproductive health,” said Carrie J. Nobles, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow in the Epidemiology Branch of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in Bethesda, Maryland.
Women pregnant at age 40 or older face a greater risk of stroke and heart attack later in life than those pregnant at a younger age. (American Heart Association)
American Heart Association says Prehypertension in late Pregnancy linked with underweight Newborns, Stillbirths
February 4, 2016
American Heart Association Rapid Access Journal Report
Dallas, TX – Women who develop prehypertension late in pregnancy may be more likely to give birth to underweight or stillborn babies than women whose blood pressure remains normal, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension.
Prehypertension is a systolic pressure (the top number) between 120-129 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) or a diastolic pressure (the bottom number) between 80-89 mm Hg, or both.
Blood pressure monitoring. (American Heart Association)
