New Market Research showcases need for re-training Health Care Workforce on Blood Pressure Measurement
November 20, 2019
Chicago, IL – With nearly half of U.S. adults living with high blood pressure, today, the American Medical Association (AMA) and American Heart Association (AHA) announced new survey results emphasizing the need for health care professionals to receive consistent and frequent re-training in measuring blood pressure (BP).
About half of health care providers surveyed said they haven’t had re-training in blood pressure measurement after leaving professional school. (American Heart Association)
American Indians may have a higher risk for Irregular Heartbeat
October 27, 2019
Dallas, TX – According to new research published in Circulation, the American Heart Association’s premier cardiovascular research journal, irregular heartbeat or atrial fibrillation (AFib) occurred more often among American Indians than among other racial and ethnic groups, .
AFib affects approximately 2.7 million people in the United States, and it is a serious disorder that can increase the risk for stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.
Atrial fibrillation, also known as irregular heartbeat, occurred more often among American Indians than among other racial and ethnic groups, according to new research. (American Heart Association)
High Levels of Chronic Stress linked to High Blood Pressure in African Americans
October 24, 2019
Dallas, TX – According to new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the open access journal of the American Heart Association, African Americans reporting high levels of chronic stress tended to develop high blood pressure, or hypertension, more often than those who reported low stress levels.
Woman Blood Pressure check with Nurse. (American Heart Association)
One daily Combo Pill helps Lower Heart Disease Risk in study of underserved patients
October 19, 2019
Dallas, TX – According to new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine and funded by the American Heart Association, the leading voluntary health organization devoted to a world of longer, healthier lives, taking one daily pill that combined medications to treat high blood pressure and high cholesterol lowered heart disease risk among underserved patients better than taking several separate medications to treat these risk factors.
A polypill that delivers several medications to treat high blood pressure and high cholesterol in a single daily capsule appears to lower heart disease risk more than traditional care. (American Heart Association)
American Heart Association says Sleeping less than Six Hours and Heart Disease, Stroke – Deadly Combo
October 18, 2019
Dallas, TX – According to new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, the open access journal of the American Heart Association, middle-aged adults with high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease or stroke could be at high risk for cancer and early death when sleeping less than six hours per day.
Bar graph showing that for people who slept less than 6 hours, the risk of early death associated with hypertension or diabetes was two times higher, while the risk of early death associated with heart disease or stroke was three times higher. (Fernandez-Mendoza et al; Journal of the American Heart Association)
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)
Arm cuff blood pressure measurements may fall short for predicting heart disease risk in some people with resistant high blood pressure
October 6, 2019
New Orleans, LA – A measurement of central blood pressure in people with difficult-to-treat high blood pressure could help reduce risk of heart disease better than traditional arm cuff readings for some patients, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension 2019 Scientific Sessions.
Central blood pressure, also called blood pressure amplification, is measured at the aorta, the artery closest to the heart.
Reducing heart disease risk in people with difficult-to-treat high blood pressure involves more than controlling blood pressure based on arm cuff measurements. (American Heart Association)
Heating Pads may Lower Blood Pressure in people with High Blood Pressure when lying down
October 5, 2019
New Orleans, LA – Applying a heating pad overnight may help people with supine hypertension, a condition that causes their blood pressure to increase when they lie down including during sleep, according to preliminary results presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension 2019 Scientific Sessions.
Supine hypertension is present in about half of people with autonomic failure, a chronic degenerative disease that affects the part of the nervous system that regulates involuntary functions such as blood pressure and heart rate.
Dr. Okamoto is the study author, research assistant and professor of medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. (Vanderbilt University)
High Blood Pressure affects Young, Healthy Medical Students
September 30, 2019
New Orleans, LA – Almost two-thirds of medical students had above-normal blood pressure and were more than twice as likely to experience clinically high blood pressure compared to the general public, according to a study presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension 2019 Scientific Sessions.
High blood pressure is typically linked with older age, being overweight, smoking and/or being in general poor health.
Young male medical students were 13 times more likely to develop elevated blood pressure than their female counterparts. (American Heart Association)
New research suggests gut bacteria may be linked to high blood pressure and depression
September 29, 2019
New Orleans, LA – A study of bacteria in the gut identified differences between people with high blood pressure compared to those with high blood pressure plus depression, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension 2019 Scientific Sessions.
“People are ‘meta-organisms’ made up of roughly equal numbers of human cells and bacteria. Gut bacteria ecology interacts with our bodily physiology and brains, which may steer some people towards developing high blood pressure and depression,” said Bruce R. Stevens, Ph.D., lead author of the study and professor of physiology & functional genomics, medicine and psychiatry at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Gainesville, Florida.
This infographic illustrates the connection between the brain, central nervous system and other organs and how they interact with a person’s gut microbes to show different patterns – from people with high blood pressure plus depression; high blood pressure without depression; depression with healthy blood pressure; or healthy subjects without depression or high blood pressure. (Bruce R. Stevens, Ph.D.)
