Hypertension News

This section informs healthcare professionals of the latest medical information via daily news articles on hypertension and other related areas.

Recent Headlines

• Hypertension May Result From Poor Teen Sleep Habits, Lead To CVD

  Wednesday, August 20, 2008
  Teenagers who don't sleep well or long enough may have a higher risk of elevated blood pressure that could lead to cardiovascular disease later in life, researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Researchers found the odds of elevated blood pressure increased 3.5 times for those with low sleep efficiency and 2.5 times for those with sleeping periods of less than 6.

• Higher Blood Pressure Risk In Teenagers Linked To Poor Or Insufficient Sleep

  Tuesday, August 19, 2008
  US research reveals that teenagers who don't sleep enough or have poor quality sleep may be at higher risk of elevated blood pressure that could lead to cardiovascular disease in adulthood. The study is the first to examine links between high blood pressure and sleep quality in healthy adolescents. The research appears as a paper published online before print on 18th August in Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association (AHA).

• Initiatives Seek To Reduce Salt Intake Among Blacks, Offer Health Benefits Assistance To Hispanics, Examine Caring For People With Alzheimer's Disease

  Monday, August 18, 2008
  Baltimore: The city in September will launch a six-month awareness campaign about salt intake associated with high blood pressure, particularly among blacks, the Baltimore Sun reports. According to the Sun, "In a city that is nearly 65% black, the risks of hypertension, which can lead to heart attack, kidney failure and stroke, are especially high.

• Better Hypertension Treatment By Determining How The Body Regulates Blood Pressure In Response To Daily Stress

  Saturday, August 16, 2008
  How the body regulates blood pressure in response to daily stress is the focus of a study geared toward helping people whose pressure is out of control. "Research shows that two-thirds of patients' high blood pressure is not controlled despite the best efforts of their doctors. That is terrible," says Dr. Gregory Harshfield, director of the Georgia Prevention Institute at the Medical College of Georgia.

• Role Of Obesity In Preeclampsia Studied At University Of Pittsburgh

  Friday, August 15, 2008
  A plague of obesity in the United States already is known to increase the risk of illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and joint problems. Now, an infusion of $6.4 million in grant support from the National Institutes of Health will enable researchers at the University of Pittsburgh-affiliated Magee-Womens Research Institute to investigate what role obesity may play in preeclampsia, a common complication of pregnancy that can be life-threatening for mother and baby.

• Single Pill Combinations Diovan HCT® And Exforge® Approved In US As First-line Treatments For High Blood Pressure

  Saturday, August 9, 2008
  The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two single-pill combination medications, Diovan HCT® (valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide) and Exforge® (amlodipine and valsartan), as initial or 'first-line' therapies in patients likely to need multiple drugs to achieve their blood pressure goals. The FDA approval of Diovan HCT and Exforge for first-line use reinforces current US guideline recommendations to start appropriate patients on combination therapy[1].

• Ways To Avoid Blood Pressure Increase At Menopause

  Thursday, August 7, 2008
  Before menopause, women have a blood pressure advantage. Women's blood pressure starts out lower than men's, but the advantage doesn't last. The August issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource offers insights on blood pressure changes in women and steps to avoid high blood pressure.

• Cleviprex™ Receives FDA Approval - First New IV Antihypertensive Treatment Approved In Ten Years

  Tuesday, August 5, 2008
  The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the intravenous (IV) therapy CleviprexTM (clevidipine butyrate) injectable emulsion for the reduction of blood pressure when oral therapy is not feasible or not desirable. Cleviprex, a novel IV antihypertensive, represents an advancement over currently available therapies, providing rapid and precise control of blood pressure in the critical care setting.

• Single-Pill Combinations Diovan HCT And Exforge Approved In US As First-Line Treatments For High Blood Pressure

  Tuesday, August 5, 2008
  The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved two single-pill combination medications, Diovan HCT(R) (valsartan and hydrochlorothiazide) and Exforge(R) (amlodipine and valsartan), as initial or 'first-line' therapies in patients likely to need multiple drugs to achieve their blood pressure goals.

• EKR Therapeutics Receives Approval For Ready-to-Use Intravenous Bags Of Cardene(R) I.V.

  Monday, August 4, 2008
  EKR Therapeutics, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on providing novel products for the acute-care hospital setting, announced that it received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Cardene® I.V. (nicardipine hydrochloride) premixed injection, a patented, ready-to-use (RTU), single use intravenous bag for the administration of this calcium channel blocker. The 200 ml RTU bags contain 20 mg of the anti-hypertensive agent nicardipine hydrochloride (0.

• Tracleer(R) (bosentan) Receives EU Approval For Treatment Of Patients With Mildly Symptomatic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

  Monday, August 4, 2008
  Actelion Ltd (SWX: ATLN) announced that Tracleer® (bosentan), a dual endothelin receptor antagonist, has been approved in the European Union for the treatment of patients with mildly symptomatic pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH WHO functional class FC II). Since 2002, Tracleer® has been approved and available in the European Union for PAH patients with WHO FC III.

• Drinking In Excess Associated With Increased Risk For Metabolic Syndrome

  Saturday, August 2, 2008
  Those who drink in excess of the U.S. Dietary Guidelines (i.e., men who usually drink more than two drinks per day or women who usually drink more than one drink per day) or those who binge drink are at increased risk for the metabolic syndrome, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

• Shock Wave Lithotripsy For Renal Stones Is Not Associated With Hypertension And Diabetes Mellitus

  Thursday, July 31, 2008
  UroToday.com - In 2006, a worrisome paper regarding the long-term effects of HM-3 shock wave lithotripsy was published by the Mayo Clinic. In that study of 578 treated patients (288 responded to the questionnaire), with 19 year follow-up matched to a control population with untreated urinary stones, a statistically significant increase in hypertension, 36% vs. 28% - and in diabetes mellitus, 17% vs. 7% was reported.1 The present study is not confirmatory.

• Study Shows Exposure To Bad Air Raises Blood Pressure

  Tuesday, July 29, 2008
  The air people breathe while walking in the park, working in the garden or shopping downtown may be unhealthy enough to seriously spike their blood pressure, a new study suggests. Cardiovascular researchers at The Ohio State University Medical Center are the first to report a direct link between air pollution and its impact on high blood pressure, or hypertension. If the results from these animal studies hold up, this could be important for human health.

• Pre-Eclampsia May Be Autoimmune Disease

  Tuesday, July 29, 2008
  Biochemists at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston say they are the first to provide pre-clinical evidence that pregnancy-induced high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia may be an autoimmune disease. Their research could provide novel diagnostic and therapeutic possibilities for this intractable disease. Findings appear online in Nature Medicine on July 27. Scientists in the laboratory of Yang Xia, M.D., Ph.D.

• Exforge(R) Helps Nearly Twice As Many Patients Control Their High Blood Pressure Compared To Amlodipine Alone

  Tuesday, July 29, 2008
  New data show Exforge(R) (amlodipine and valsartan), a single-pill combination of the world's leading high blood pressure medicines Diovan(R) (valsartan) and amlodipine, gets nearly twice as many patients with high baseline blood pressure to a healthier blood pressure goal compared to amlodipine alone.

• Anti-Hypertenstion Drugs May Benefit People With Dementia

  Monday, July 28, 2008
  Alzheimer's Society comment on new research presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD). High blood pressure doubles the risk of Alzheimer's disease and increases the risk of stroke. This study highlights that it is becoming increasingly important to investigate anti-hypertension drugs as a potential treatment for dementia, not just a risk factor.

• Pre-Eclampsia: New Research On Mice May Have Important Implications For Humans

  Monday, July 28, 2008
  In a new March of Dimes-funded study of pre-eclampsia, a serious and potentially deadly disorder that affects about 5 percent of pregnancies, researchers have found results in mice that may have important implications for diagnosis and treatment in humans. Yang Xia, M.D., Ph.D., and Rodney E. Kellems, Ph.D., Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; and Susan M. Ramin, M.D.

• Tackling Alzheimer's Disease With Angiotensin Receptor Blockers

  Monday, July 28, 2008
  Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have, for the first time, found that angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) - a particular class of anti-hypertensive medicines - are associated with a striking decrease in the occurrence and progression of dementia. Data from this study was presented at the 2008 International Conference on Alzheimer's disease in Chicago. Using data from the Decision Support System Database of the U.S.

• Strategic Plan For Research Into Benign Prostate Disease Published By NIDDK

  Monday, July 28, 2008
  For the first time, a strategic plan for research into benign prostate disease, based on the latest scientific knowledge, has been published by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

• Long-Term Outcomes Of Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy Compared To Shock Wave Lithotripsy And Conservative Management

  Thursday, July 24, 2008
  UroToday.com - In this very important and unique study, the authors note that at 19.2 years average follow-up after percutaneous stone removal (PCNL), the incidence of hypertension (34.1%) is no different than after shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) (36.4%). Of note, the incidence of diabetes (23.5%) at first appeared to be higher than after SWL (16.8%) but in a multivariate analysis taking into account BMI and stone size, the difference did not hold up.

• NicOx Completes Enrollment Of Two Ambulatory Blood Pressure Measurement (ABPM) Studies For Naproxcinod In Hypertensive OA Patients

  Wednesday, July 23, 2008
  NicOx S.A. (Euronext Paris: COX) announced it has successfully completed the enrollment of 417 osteoarthritis (OA) patients with controlled hypertension in two clinical pharmacology studies in the United States, in line with previously announced timelines. These trials are designed to assess the blood pressure profile of naproxcinod, in comparison to ibuprofen and naproxen, using the Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring (ABPM) technique.

• Bosentan Improves Quality Of Life For Patients With Pulmonary Hypertension

  Sunday, July 20, 2008
  Recent studies have shown that bosentan therapy greatly improves the quality of life for patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). According to a study in Respirology published by Wiley-Blackwell, treatments with oral Bosentan reduces resistance in blood flow - allowing the heart and lungs to work more efficiently and in turn, enables patients to increase exercise capacity and quality of life.

• New Publication Shows Cleviprex™ Is Effective For Rapid Treatment Of Acute Hypertension After Cardiac Surgery

  Wednesday, July 16, 2008
  The Medicines Company (NASDAQ: MDCO) announced that the results of ESCAPE -2, a pivotal Phase 3 efficacy trial of its investigational agent Cleviprex™ (clevidipine butyrate) injectable emulsion, were published in the July issue of the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia. The clinical trial demonstrated that Cleviprex is effective and safe in the rapid treatment of acute hypertension after cardiac surgery.

• Increased Risk Of Atherosclerosis Later In Life For Young Adults With Prehypertension

  Wednesday, July 16, 2008
  Prehypertension during young adulthood is common and is associated with subsequent coronary atherosclerosis, according to a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine. Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, analyzed blood pressure measurements of 3,560 adults aged 18 to 30 from seven examinations over the course of 20 years.