Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Less salt means lower blood pressure

I guess this is something we have all heard, but it's nice to have a study to prove it.

Article source: http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=438010

"Simply avoiding pre-salted foods and not adding salt to foods can result in a modest but statistically significant reduction in blood pressure, study findings suggest.

A modest reduction in dietary salt, measured by sodium content in the urine by about 35 per cent and lowered daytime blood pressure by 12.1 mm Hg systolic and 6.8 mm Hg diastolic in patients with high blood pressure (hypertension) not taking anti-hypertensive medications, reports Dr Javad Kojuri. Blood pressure readings at night were slightly lower.

Kojuri and Dr Rahim Rahimi, both from Shiraz University in Iran, assessed blood pressure and 24-hour urinary sodium excretion in 60 individuals before and after instructing them to follow a 'no salt added' diet for 6 weeks.

Twenty subjects who did not follow the diet were used as a comparison group ("controls")."

Friday, November 16, 2007

Blood Pressure Harder to Treat in Winter

Here's an interesting article I came across regarding treating blood pressure in winter. Looks like we should be glad summer's on it's way here in Australia!

Article source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,308480,00.html

Blood Pressure Tougher to Treat in Winter, Study Says

"If you're being treated for high blood pressure, the condition may be tougher to control during the winter months, according to a new study by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The five-year study focused on the health records of more than 440,000 U.S. military veterans from 15 V.A.hospitals across the country. Researchers found veterans treated in the winter were less likely to see their blood pressure return to normal levels compared to those treated in the summer.

"The bottom line is that regardless of whether you're in Anchorage, Alaska or San Juan, Puerto Rico, there is a difference in high blood pressure returning to normal in the winter compared to the summer," said Dr. Ross D. Fletcher, lead researcher and chief of staff at the V.A. Medical Center in Washington, D.C., in a news release."

Monday, November 12, 2007

Vaccine Lowers Blood Pressure

An experimental vaccine may someday free people with high blood pressure from having to swallow their medication every day.

In a new study, systolic blood pressure (the top number) fell 6 points in volunteers injected with the vaccine. Diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) dropped 3 points.

The vaccine also unexpectedly blunted the surge in blood pressure that typically occurs between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m, says Juerg Nussberger, MD, a professor of medicine at University Hospital of the Canton of Vaud in Lausanne, Switzerland.

That's important because most heart attacks and strokes occur in the morning, he tells WebMD.

The findings were presented at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association (AHA).

If this vaccine became available, would you try it? Why or why not? Talk with others on the Hypertension: Support Group message board.)

Blood Pressure Vaccine Could Improve Compliance - AHA President Daniel Jones, MD, of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, tells WebMD that the vaccine shows promise for improving control of blood pressure.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/news/20071106/vaccine-lowers-blood-pressure?src=RSS_PUBLIC