hypertension news stories on Newser

Wait, Salt's Not So Bad Now?

Evann Gastaldo — Wed, 04 May 2011 14:10:02 CDT

In a world with constantly changing nutritional guidelines (eggs are bad for you; no, they're good for you! ), one food has seemed to be consistently maligned: salt. But a new, and highly contested, study finds that low-salt diets do not prevent high blood pressure—and actually increase the risk...

Chilis May Lower Blood Pressure

Jane Yager — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 10:07:04 CDT

Good news for spicy food lovers: Eating chili peppers may lower blood pressure over the long term. A new study, carried out on rats, is the first to establish a link between long-term ingestion of capsaicin, the ingredient that makes chilis spicy, and lowered blood pressure in animals predisposed to...

Half of US Has Major Heart Disease Risk

Kevin Spak — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 13:03:11 CDT

Nearly 50% of Americans have either high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes, putting them at significant risk of heart disease, and many don't even know it, according to a new CDC report. Among those with only one risk factor, 15% are undiagnosed. “That's a huge wake-up call,” the American...

Low-Carb Diet Linked to Lower Blood Pressure

M. Morris — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:49:00 CST

Besides leading to weight loss, a low-carbohydrate diet helps lower blood pressure, according to a new study. Research subjects randomly assigned to a low-carb regimen lost about as much weight as patients following a low-fat plan and taking a weight-loss drug—the generic version of the medication marketed as Alli—...

High Blood Pressure Linked to Body Clock

Jane Yager — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 08:49:14 CST

Add high blood pressure to the long list of heightened risk factors for night shift workers, long-distance flight crews, and others with disturbances in the body's 24-hour clock. In findings with implications for treatment of hypertension, Japanese researchers working on mice have shown that the circadian clock directly controls a...

Transcendental Meditation Slashes Heart Attack Risk

Harry Kimball — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:17:01 CST

Transcendental Meditation's tangible—and significant—health benefits have been confirmed by another pair of heart-disease-related studies. In one, a nine-year look at black Americans with heart disease, those who practiced TM had a 50% lower risk of heart attack, stroke, and death compared to a control group using traditional preventative...

Road Noise Drives Blood Pressure Up

Matt Cantor — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:41:03 CDT

People who live close to noisy roads may face a greater threat of developing high blood pressure than residents of quieter areas, researchers in Sweden say. People experiencing average daily noise exposure above 60 decibels have a more than 25% higher risk of hypertension, a study shows. The researchers link...

Job Loss Anxiety Hurts More Than No Job at All

Wesley Oliver — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 17:33:01 CDT

Worried about your job? It may be better for your health if you just quit, new research suggests. Looking at studies of nearly 2,000 adults, scientists at the University of Michigan have found job loss anxiety can be more harmful to your health than unemployment, hypertension, or even smoking,...

Eat Way Less Added Sugar: Heart Docs

M. Morris — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 17:35:58 CDT

Americans eat more than twice as much added sugar as doctors recommend, and they should cut back to battle obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease, researchers say. Added calories from processed sugar should total no more than 150 for men and 100 for women, the American Heart Association said today....