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Blood pressure drugs cut death rate in diabetes

admin — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 15:59:39 +0000

The largest-ever study of treatments for diabetes has shown that a fixed combination of two blood pressure lowering drugs reduces the risk of death, as well as the risks of heart and kidney disease. Results from the ADVANCE (Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease) Study were presented today at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2007 in Vienna.

One of the study leaders, Professor Stephen MacMahon from The George Institute for International Health in Australia, said “these results represent an important step forward in health care for the millions of people with diabetes worldwide. This treatment reduced the likelihood of dying from the complications of diabetes by almost one-fifth, with virtually no side-effects.”

Globally, there are approximately 250 million people with diabetes, most of whom will eventually be killed or disabled by the complications of their condition. The most common cause of death in people with diabetes is heart disease. Kidney disease also affects a large proportion. In 2006, the United Nations issued a statement calling for increased international action to combat the global epidemic of diabetes.

A total of 11 140 patients with diabetes from 20 countries world wide participated in the 4.3 year project. Half received daily treatment with a single tablet containing fixed combination of two blood pressure lowering drugs (perindopril and indapamide) and half received matching inactive placebo.

Dr. Anushka Patel, Study Director also from The George Institute, said “the participants in ADVANCE were already receiving most of the usual treatments provided to patients with diabetes, including other drugs to lower blood pressure. However, addition of the fixed combination of perindopril and indapamide reduced the risk of death from any cause by 14% and the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 18%. In absolute terms, one death would be avoided for every 79 patients treated with the fixed combination of perindopril and indapamide for 5 years. The risk of coronary heart disease events was reduced by 14% and the risk of new or worsening kidney disease was reduced by 21%.

Professor John Chalmers, the author of previous international guidelines for the treatment of high blood pressure and chairman of the study management group, said, “the results clearly demonstrate that we have the tools to blunt the impact of the global diabetes epidemic facing rich and poor countries alike. But concerted action is urgently required to ensure that patients with diabetes are identified and provided with treatments proven to improve important outcomes like survival.”

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Exercise and Resting Blood Pressure

admin — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 12:34:33 +0000

Introduction
High blood pressure, or hypertension is a major health problem affecting 43 million Americans, which is approximately 24% of the national population (Kelley & Kelly, 2000). It is defined as resting systolic and/or diastolic blood pressure greater than 140/90 mmHg. There are two million new cases of hypertension each year, and it is estimated that two-thirds of American will have high blood pressure some time in old age (Neiman 1998). This article will examine the impact of aerobic exercise and hypertension and review recent research on the affect of progressive resistance exercise on resting systolic and diastolic blood pressure in adults.

Hypertension the Health Problem
High blood pressure kills more than 37,000 Americans each year and contributes to the deaths of 700,000 individuals (Neiman 1998). When undetected and untreated, hypertension may lead to a number of abnormal problems. The heart sometimes begins to increase in size, which eventually can cause heart failure. The blood vessels in the kidneys often begin to narrow, which may lead to kidney failure. The brain’s blood vessels can develop small wall defects, known as aneurisms, which oftentimes leads to a stroke. Finally, hypertension will sometimes lead to a hardening of the arteries throughout the body, which can provoke a heart attack, stroke, or kidney failure. In population areas and societies where physical inactivity and obesity are present, and salt and alcohol intake are high, hypertension is common (Neiman 1998).

Aerobic Exercise Prescription for Lowering High Blood Pressure
The aerobic exercise prescription for lowering resting blood pressure includes moderately intense aerobic exercise at 40% to 60% of VO2max, for 30 to 45 minutes, on most days of the week. Aerobic exercise is a potent intervention in lowering and preventing the incidence of hypertension. Those with high normal and Stage 1 hypertension (See Table 1) may expect a drop of up to 8 – 10 mmHg and 6 – 10 mmHg in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively, due to the independent effect of aerobic exercise (Neiman 1998). It is interesting to note that most of the lowering of systolic and diastolic blood pressure in those with hypertension occurs within a few weeks of consistent aerobic training. The exact mechanism how aerobic exercise helps to lower high blood pressure is unclear, however it is theorized that biochemical, neural and hormonal changes in the blood vessel walls induce an acute and long-term blood vessel relaxation.

How effective is Resistance Exercise in Lowering Blood Pressure?
The research has been unclear as to the relationship of progressive resistance exercise and those individuals with hypertension. Studies in this area have been criticized for having small sample populations and inadequate research designs. However, Kelley and Kelley (2000) recently employed a powerful quantitative research technique known as meta-analysis, to better ascertain what is truly known about the use of resistance exercise as a nonpharmacological intervention in lowering resting blood pressure in adults. Using this sophisticated statistical design, these researchers concluded that participation in resistance exercise results in decreases of approximately 2% and 4% in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respectively. The length of training in all the studies was from 6 to 30 weeks, with a mean training period of 14 weeks. Frequency ranged from 2 to 5 times per week, with an average of 3 times per week. The intensity ranged from 30% to 90% 1-RM, with a mean of 35% 1-RM. The duration per session varied from 20 to 60 minutes, with a mean session length of 38 minutes. The number of sets per exercise ranged from 1 to 4, with an average being 2 sets. The number of exercises ranged from 6 to 14 with the mean being 10 exercises. Means for the actual number of repetitions and rest between sets were not reported in all investigations, so this information can only be reported in ranges. The number of repetitions ranged from 5 to 50 repetitions, and the rest between sets ranged from 15 to 120 seconds.

The meta-analysis suggests that progressive resistance exercise has modest reductions in resting

systolic and diastolic blood pressure. It is important to note that even small reductions in blood pressure have a beneficial effect in reducing cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality (Kelley and Kelley 2000). An interesting finding of this investigation was that circuit training protocols result in similar blood pressure changes as do traditional % 1-RM designs. The researchers suggest uttermost caution in prescribing high intensity resistance exercise for those with high blood pressure, as peak systolic and diastolic values of 320 and 250 mmHG have been observed with this type of training.

Final Thoughts
Previously, individuals with hypertension have been counseled not to engage in resistance exercise programs because of fears of an unusually high blood pressure response. However, from this research review, it appears that moderate intensity weight training and circuit training may be recommended as part of an all-around exercise program that will help improve quality of life and reduce cardiovascular disease risk.

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Blood pressure readings often unreliable

admin — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 09:48:59 +0000

The measurement of blood pressure during a doctor visit is fraught with problems that can lead to some cases of hypertension being overlooked or some patients being misclassified as having the condition. That was the message of several presentations at last month’s American Society of Hypertension 22nd annual scientific meeting, held in Chicago.

“Of all the procedures done in a doctor’s office, measurement of blood pressure is usually the least well performed but has the most important implications for the care of the patient,” said Norman M. Kaplan, MD, clinical professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, who moderated one of the sessions.

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Experts said the in-office assessment is unreliable because blood pressure can be raised or lowered by the presence of the medical professional taking it. The numbers also can be different from one arm to the other or from one minute to the next.

The American Heart Assn. guidelines — which call for blood pressure to be measured at least five minutes after a patient arrives in the office while he or she is sitting in a chair with the arm supported — often are not followed. This strategy also can miss patients whose blood pressure peaks at night, first thing in the morning or otherwise out of the office setting, and thus miss patients who might need to lower blood pressure.

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A jab that will cure high blood pressure

admin — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 16:24:41 +0000

British scientists have developed a vaccine to control high blood pressure which could save tens of thousands of lives a year in the UK alone.
Based on a protein found in limpets, it would need a course of just three jabs, with a booster every six months.
High blood pressure, which affects a third of all adults, doubles the risk of dying from heart disease or stroke and is blamed for 60,000 deaths a year in Britain.
It is currently treated with pills, but they can cause side-effects and some patients simply stop taking them.
Now the Cheshire-based drug firm Protherics says its vaccine will make it much easier for people to control their blood pressure.
“Improving compliance in this way could save thousands from life-threatening complications such as heart attack or stroke,” said the company’s Dr Andrew Heath.
The jab, which has been successfully tested on people, uses the limpet protein to attack a hormone called angiotensin, which is produced by the liver.

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Dr Gordon Cameron MD

admin — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 22:55:13 +0000

Dr Cameron’s aim in life is to strip away the complexity from medical advice. On this website you’ll find clearly written information in a style you can easily digest.

Dr Cameron produces an easy to read and helpful newsletter designed to keep you up to date with all matters related to blood pressure and its treatment.

You can visit his site here

Serious diseases genes revealed

admin — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 21:47:16 +0000

A major advance in understanding the genetics behind several of the world’s most common diseases has been reported.
The landmark Wellcome Trust study analysed DNA from the blood of 17,000 people to find genetic differences.

They found new genetic variants for depression, Crohn’s disease, coronary heart disease, hypertension, rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 and 2 diabetes.

The remarkable findings, published in Nature, have been hailed as a new chapter in medical science.

It is hoped they will pave the way for research into new treatments and genetic tests.

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Home Monitoring of High Blood Pressure

admin — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 20:38:16 +0000

You may have what’s called “white coat hypertension”; that means your blood pressure goes up when you’re at the doctor’s office. Monitoring at home will help you measure your true blood pressure and can provide your doctor with a log of blood pressure measurements over time. This is helpful in diagnosing and preventing potential health problems.

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Brain causes high blood pressure

admin — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 20:36:09 +0000

LONDON: The brain, not the heart, may be responsible for high blood pressure, said British researchers yesterday. The find could give new clues to preventing and treating the disease.

Hypertension - which can lead to heart attacks, strokes and kidney damage, may be an inflammatory vascular disease of the brain rather than the heart - as previously thought.

The British team behind the find discovered that a protein located in the brain of rats, JAM-1, traps white blood cells. This can then cause inflammation and obstruct blood flow, leading to poor oxygen supply to the brain.

The researchers still have much to understand about the precise mechanism of the disease, but their initial findings are to be published in the next edition of medical journal Hypertension.

“JAM-1 could provide us with new clues as how to deal with this disease [in people],” said physiologist and lead researcher Julian Paton, from Bristol University in England.

“We are looking at the possibility of treating those patients that fail to respond to conventional therapy for hypertension with drugs that reduce blood vessel inflammation and increase blood flow within the brain,” he said.

“The future challenge will be to understand the type of inflammation within the vessels in the brain, so we know what drug to use and how to target them,” said Paton

Aside from medication, conventional treatment for reducing high blood pressure includes eating low fat food, reducing salt intake and regular exercise.

“This exciting study is important because it suggests there are unexpected causes of high blood pressure related to blood supply to the brain commented Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director of the British Heart Foundation in London. “It therefore opens up the possibility of new ways to treat this common, but often poorly managed condition.”

About one in three people in both Britain and Australia - and more than 600 million people worldwide - are thought to suffer from hypertension.

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bloodr alpha public release

admin — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 20:33:08 +0000

Today we’re announcing the release of the bloodr alpha.

What is bloodr ?

Bloodr is next generation blood pressure recording and analysis software. Unlike other health monitoring software we have made the decision to focus on the monitoring of High blood pressure AKA hypertension. 600 million people worldwide suffer from hypertension (also know as the silent killer), bloodr allows a hypertension suffer to record Systolic, Diatolic and pulse readings on any internet enabled computer, bloodr will then produce detailed statistics and professional quality charts.

As a software development company we subscribe to the mantra of release early, release often. Hence bloodr is currently in an alpha state. We wil be adding new features regulary and now feel that the product is stable enough allow a public audience.

All data is secure and anonymous.

Data can easily be printed in grid and chart form and passed to your health care professional.

Contact the bloodr team here any feedback welcome.