Blood pressure meds extend long-term life expectancy

2011-12-20T18:30:31Z

People who took blood pressure medicine during a 1980s clinical trial showed longer life expectancy two decades later than people who took a placebo, a US study said on Tuesday.

The randomized trial included 4,736 patients aged 60 and over who had high blood pressure. Some were given a drug called chlorthalidone and others were given a sugar pill for a 4.5 year period beginning in 1985.

At the end of the Systolic Hyper...

Novartis ends study of drug in high risk patients

2011-12-19T23:30:15Z

ZURICH, Dec 20 - Swiss drugmaker Novartis said it was ending a study of a drug to treat high blood pressure after an independent body said it could increase risk to patients with a high risk of heart or kidney problems.

Novartis said on Tuesday sales of the drug, known as Rasilez in the Reuters) - An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but three kiwis could lower your blood pressure.

A study at the American Heart Association scientific meeting in Orlando on Tuesday found that eating the fuzzy-skinned ...

New review questions benefit of cutting down on salt

2011-11-09T07:30:15Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Reducing salt in the diets of the general population may not have an overall positive health impact, according to a review of more than 160 scientific studies published Wednesday.

In an analysis that fuels a row over the health effects of salt, researchers writing in the American Journal of Hypertension and the Cochrane Library journal said the systematic review added to g...

FDA warns Bristol's leukemia drug may raise lung risks

2011-10-11T07:01:17Z

(Reuters) - Health regulators warned on Tuesday that Bristol-Myers Squibb Co's leukemia drug Sprycel may raise the risk of a rare, but serious condition characterized by abnormally high blood pressure in the arteries of the l...

John Shepherd, cardiovascular expert, dies at 92

2011-10-07T10:30:35Z

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Dr. John Shepherd, whose discoveries have led to new ways to treat high blood pressure and who helped astronauts withstand the rigors of space travel, has died, his family and colleagues said on Friday.

Shepherd, who had suffered from Alzheimer's disease, wa...

Study casts wider net for risky blood pressure in kids

2011-09-09T14:30:20Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - More kids than previously thought could be at risk for dangerously high blood pressure, with as many as a quarter having blood vessels that look like those of much older people, according to a new study.

Because there is a theoretical possibility that some of these kids could suffer a stroke or a heart attack down the road, researchers say the findings mean all ki...

Grape seed shows small effect on blood pressure

2011-09-08T11:00:08Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Grape seed extract is marketed as a way to guard your heart health, but clinical trials so far suggest the supplement has small effects on blood pressure and heart rate, a new review finds.

Pooling the results from nine clinical trials, researchers found that on average grape seed extract shaved about 1.5 points from people's systolic blood pressure -- the top num...

Special Report: A pinch of doubt over salt

2011-09-01T06:30:16Z

LONDON (Reuters) - In Britain it started with Sid, the "giant slug with a message", who slicked his way onto television screens back in 2004 as part of a government health campaign to warn people about the dangers of consuming too much salt. "Stay away from fast cars, loose women and SALT!" he screamed.

Sid's message --...

Hypertension study prompts new diagnosis guidance

2011-08-23T17:00:51Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Taking repeated blood pressure readings over a 24-hour period rather than a one-off measurement in the clinic is the most cost-effective way of deciding who should be prescribed drugs for hypertension, according to a study published Wednesday.

The findings in favor of so-called ambulatory blood pressure monitoring were immediately adopted by

Virus can cause high blood pressure: Chinese study

2011-08-15T07:30:25Z

High blood pressure could be caused by a common virus, according to a study carried out by a team of Chinese doctors which could lead to better treatment for millions of people around the world.

The team from Beijing Chaoyang Hospital's cardiology centre says it has found the first evidence of a link between the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and the most commonly occurring form...

U.S. says no cancer risk from blood pressure drugs

2011-06-02T11:30:39Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials found on Thursday that a class of widely-used blood pressure drugs does not increase the risk of cancer.

Last year, a published study reported a small increase in the cancer risk for patients taking medicines called angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs), and the CHICAGO (Reuters) - Nearly one in five young U.S. adults may have high blood pressure, researchers said on Wednesday in a study suggesting the problem of hypertension is more widespread than previously thought.

Hypertension is easy to prevent and inexpensive to treat through diet, exercise and drugs, yet it is the second-leading cause of death in...

Are some blood pressure drugs easier to take?

2011-04-29T11:00:08Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - When it comes to treating high blood pressure, people may be more likely to stick with certain types of medication than others, a new study suggests.

In an analysis of 15 past studies, researchers found that on average, people were less likely to adhere to prescriptions of diuretics -- a long used and cheap class of blood pressure drug sometimes referred to as wat...

No evidence that coffee ups risk of high blood pressure: study

2011-04-21T19:00:06Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Go ahead. Have that second cup of coffee -- or maybe even a third.

Despite previous concerns, downing lots of coffee doesn't seem to increase the risk of high blood pressure, says a U.S. study.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, has been linked to heart disease, stroke and a shorter life expectancy, and some scientists have suggested that coff...

Pacemaker-like device helps reduce blood pressure

2011-04-05T15:00:11Z

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - An experimental pacemaker-like device that delivers jolts of electricity to the neck arteries reduced blood pressure in people for whom drugs did not work - although not as much as its developers had hoped.

Results from a 265-patient study showed the Rheos device was able to help those with severe hypertension - de...

BP meds may help some people without high BP: study

2011-03-01T14:30:26Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A thorough look at the medical evidence suggests people who've had a stroke or a heart attack might benefit from taking blood pressure medications, even if they don't have high blood pressure.

Researchers found that for every 1,000 people taking the drugs in clinical trials, on average 15 fewer died from heart disease than when the patients got dummy treatment.

Higher education, lower blood pressure: study

2011-02-27T20:30:33Z

The more advanced degrees a person has, the lower their blood pressure, a study published online has found.

An analysis of some 4,000 patient records from the 30-year Framingham Offspring Study found that, controlling only for age, women with 17 years or more of education -- a master's degree or doctorate -- had systolic blood pressure readings 3.26 millimeters of mercury lower than female high school drop-outs.

Takeda seeks U.S. approval of hypertension drug

2011-02-23T18:30:09Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co said on Wednesday it submitted a new drug application in the United States for a hypertension drug.

A U.S. ...

Obesity epidemic risks heart disease "tsunami"

2011-02-03T16:30:22Z

CHICAGO/LONDON (Reuters) - More than half a billion people, or one in 10 adults worldwide, are obese -- more than double the number in 1980 -- as the obesity epidemic spills over from wealthy into poorer nations, researchers said on Thursday.

And while rich nations made big strides in cutting rates of high cholesterol and hypertension, or high bl...

Blood pressure meds tied to lower cancer risk

2011-02-03T14:00:48Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Doctors in Taiwan have found that people who take a common type of blood pressure drug appear less likely to develop cancer than patients not taking the medication.

Their report adds to a conflicting array of studies on this type of medicine, called angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs), and one U.S....

Doctor incentives don't improve patient care: study

2011-01-26T09:30:29Z

LONDON (Reuters) - Paying doctors financial rewards to meet targets for improving the care of patients made no discernible difference to the health or treatment of people with high blood pressure, a study has found.

The findings suggest governments and health insurers across the world may be wasting billions of dollars on doctor incentive schemes but getting no improvement in patient care, r...

"Storytelling" found to aid blood pressure control

2011-01-18T13:00:22Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who have trouble keeping their blood pressure in check might benefit from hearing about other patients' struggles with the same problem, a preliminary study suggests.

The study, of 299 African-American patients with high blood pressure, looked at the effects of so-called "storytelling" on participants' blood pressure control. About three-quarters of the peo...

Antibiotics, blood pressure drugs can be risky mix

2011-01-17T11:00:12Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Older adults on blood pressure drugs known as calcium channel blockers could suffer dangerous drops in blood pressure if they are given certain antibiotics, according to a study out Monday.

Researchers found that patients on calcium channel blockers who were given the antibiotics erythromycin (brands like E-Mycin) or clarithromycin (Reuters) - Patients with high blood pressure treated with a combination of a Novartis hypertension drug and a generic medicine do better than if they take only one of the drugs alone, trial data released on Thursday showed.

The results of a study known as ACCELERATE also showed that patients who switched from single drug treatment...

Pfizer pulls Thelin from market due to fatal risk

2010-12-10T14:30:47Z

US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced on Friday it is pulling its blood pressure drug Thelin off the market due to a potentially life-threatening risk of liver damage.

Pfizer said it was voluntarily withdrawing Thelin in the European Union, Canada and Reuters Health) - Home blood pressure monitors can help people keep their blood pressure in check and possibly cut down on medication -- as long as the patients and their doctors put those home readings to good use, a new research review finds.

The analysis, of 37 international clinical trials, found that on average, adults with high blood pressure who were assigned to use home mon...

Pfizer recalls lung drug after two deaths

2010-12-10T12:00:44Z

NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) - Pfizer Inc is voluntarily recalling its drug to treat a life-threatening lung condition and will end studies of the pill after it was linked to potentially deadly liver toxicity.

The European Medicines Agency on Friday said the mo...

Summary Box: Pfizer takes Thelin off the market

2010-12-10T10:30:21Z

Summary Box: Pfizer withdraws hypertension drug after finding link to deaths and liver damage

WITHDRAWAL: Pfizer Inc. is pulling Thelin from foreign markets and ending clinical trials after two patients who took the pulmonary arterial hypertension drug died during a clinical trial. An analysis showed the drug could cause liver damage with few warning signs.

INDICATION: Thelin is used to treat severe high ...

Citing liver damage, Pfizer withdraws Thelin

2010-12-10T05:30:14Z

Pfizer Inc. says it is pulling its blood pressure drug Thelin off the market and stopping all clinical trials because the drug can cause fatal liver damage.

Thelin is sold in the European Union, Canada, and Australia as a treatment for pul...

Heavy Kids Become Teens With Heart Risks

2010-11-30T12:37:48Z

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Medicinal Properties of Pine Bark

2010-11-29T14:38:19Z

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Donor eggs may be linked to pregnancy complication

2010-11-25T10:00:30Z

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who use donated eggs to get pregnant by in vitro fertilization (IVF) might be more at risk for a common but potentially dangerous pregnancy complication than women using traditional IVF, a small study suggests.

Women who get pregnant using IVF -- in which an egg is fertilized outside the body, then implanted into a woman's uterus -- are already thought to be...

Medtronic’s Ardian Purchase is a Bet on New Anti-Hypertension Tech

2010-11-29T15:01:28Z

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Pregnancy From Donor Egg Raises Hypertension Risk

2010-11-29T14:46:42Z

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Aged Garlic Extract May Lower High Blood Pressure

2010-11-29T14:53:39Z

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Escape bid by Pc's killer is foiled

2010-11-29T15:00:15Z

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Functions, Sources and Deficiency of Potassium

2010-11-29T14:53:28Z

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How to Calibrate an Omron

2010-11-29T14:37:34Z

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How to Calibrate an OMRON HEM-780

2010-11-29T14:37:31Z

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COSecret weapon against hypertension could prove smelly

2010-11-18T19:30:19Z

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Have high blood pressure? Australian scientists may have a new solution -- but it won't win you a lot of friends.

The secret weapon is garlic, according to a study published in the scientific journal Maturitas.

In a 12-week trial involving 50 patients, Karen Ried and a team of colleagues at the Reuters Life!) - Australian scientists have found that a dietary supplement may help people who can't control their blood pressure with standard drugs.