Expensive new blood pressure meds no better than generics

New long-term data from landmark ALLHAT study

MAYWOOD, Ill. — Expensive brand-name medications to lower blood pressure are no better at preventing cardiovascular disease than older, generic diuretics, according to new long-term data from a landmark study.

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Medical researchers at U of Alberta discover potential treatment for pulmonary hypertension

Researchers in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta are one step closer to a treatment for a 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.

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Chili peppers come with blood pressure benefits

For those with high blood pressure, chili peppers might be just what the doctor ordered, according to a study reported in the August issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. While the active ingredient that gives the peppers their heat—a compound known as capsaicin—might set your mouth on fire, it also leads blood vessels to relax, the research in hypertensive rats shows.

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Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers identify risks of hypertension in young adults

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

BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL - 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.

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New proteins found that regulate blood pressure, flow

PITTSBURGH, July 7 – Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified key players in a little-known biochemical pathway that appears to regulate blood pressure. The findings, reported in the early online version of Cardiovascular Research, have evolved from studies conducted by Jeffrey S. Isenberg, M.D., Eileen M. Bauer, Ph.D., and their colleagues at Pitt’s Vascular Medicine Institute.

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Researchers identify water’s unexpected role in blood pressure control

Name a drink that can make you more alert for late-night studying, prevent you from fainting after giving blood, and even promote a teensy bit of weight loss.

Chances are you didn’t say water. But that’s the right answer.

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Study shows cocoa flavanols improve vascular and blood pressure measures for coronary artery disease patients

A new study by UCSF cardiologists and researchers found that high concentrations of cocoa flavanols decrease blood pressure, improve the health of blood vessels and increase the number of circulating blood-vessel-forming cells in patients with heart disease. The findings indicate that foods rich in flavanols – such as cocoa products, tea, wine, and various fruits and vegetables – have a cardio-protective benefit for heart disease patients.

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Dark chocolate lowers blood pressure

For people with hypertension, eating dark chocolate can significantly reduce blood pressure. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Medicine combined the results of 15 studies into the effects of flavanols, the compounds in chocolate which cause dilation of blood vessels, on blood pressure.

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Nitrate in beetroot juice lowers blood pressure

The nitrate content of beetroot juice is the underlying cause of its blood pressure lowering benefits, research from Queen Mary University of London reveals today.

The study, published online in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension, found that blood pressure was lowered within 24hours in people who took nitrate tablets, and people who drank beetroot juice.

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NIH-supported study finds novel pathway may open doors for new blood pressure treatments

Researchers have found that increasing certain proteins in the blood vessels of mice, relaxed the vessels, lowering the animal’s blood pressure. The study provides new avenues for research that may lead to new treatments for hypertension.

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