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.)
High Blood Pressure Treatment may slow Cognitive Decline
September 26, 2019
New Orleans, LA – High blood pressure appears to accelerate cognitive decline among middle-aged and older adults and treating high blood pressure may slow down the process, according to a preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension 2019 Scientific Sessions.
The findings are important because high blood pressure and cognitive decline are two of the most common conditions associated with aging, and more people are living longer worldwide.
An optical engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, California, Camilo Mejia Prada, shines a light on the interior of a testbed for an instrument called a coronagraph that will fly aboard the WFIRST space telescope. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Matthew Luem)
Blood Pressure Monitoring may one day be easy as taking a Video Selfie
September 16, 2019
Dallas, TX – Blood pressure monitoring might one day become as easy as taking a video selfie, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Imaging, an American Heart Association journal.
Transdermal optical imaging measures blood pressure by detecting blood flow changes in smartphone-captured facial videos.
Screen grab from app: What can you measure in 30 seconds… using just your phone? Blood pressure, vascular capacity, cardiac workload, demographis, CVD risk, heart attack risk, stroke risk, BMI, face skin age and vascular age, stress index, breathing, and heart rate. (Kang Lee)
Blood pressure control less likely among those treated in low-income areas
September 10, 2019
Dallas, TX – People enrolled in a large clinical hypertension management trial were half as likely to control their blood pressure if they received care at clinics and primary care practices in low-income areas, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.
Study participants at low-income sites were more likely to die before the end of the research study or die from complications of heart failure. (American Heart Association)
Former NFL Players may face higher risk of Atrial Fibrillation
September 6, 2019
Dallas, TX – Former National Football League players were nearly 6 times more likely to have atrial fibrillation (AFib) compared to men of similar age who did not play professional football, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.
Former NFL athletes had lower risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, and had lower resting heart rates compared to the control group, yet the incidence of atrial fibrillation was still higher. (American Heart Association)
