High Blood Pressure Risk Rising Among U.s. Youths

BLOOD PRESSURE DRUG MAY FIGHT CANCER, DEMENTIA; VOLUNTEERS SOUGHT FOR FURTHER STUDIES



A new study from the American Heart Association shows that over the past 13 years, children and adolescents have seen stark rises in their risk for high blood pressure. That could set them up for a lifetime of stroke, heart disease and kidney failure. "High blood pressure is dangerous in part because many people don't know they have it," study author Dr. Bernard Rosner, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass., said in a statement . "It's a very sneaky thing." High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a problem in which blood pushes too hard against a person's blood vessels, potentially causing damage to the vessels and organs like the heart, according to WebMD . Risk factors for hypertension in children include obesity, sodium intake and family history.


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BLOOD PRESSURE DRUG MIGHT BOOST CHEMO SUCCESS, MOUSE STUDY SUGGESTS



Sign Up for MedicineNet Newsletters! TUESDAY, Oct. 1 (HealthDay News) -- A blood pressure drug shows promise in improving the effectiveness of cancer chemotherapy , according to a new study. In tests on mice with breast and pancreatic cancer , researchers found that treatment with losartan (brand name Cozaar) boosted the delivery of chemotherapy drugs by opening up collapsed blood vessels in solid tumors.

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MEDITATION ALONE DOES NOT NECESSARILY LOWER BLOOD PRESSURE



It just simply doesn't lower blood pressure," senior author Dr. Sheldon Tobe of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, said.He said he was expecting to see an effect on blood pressure based on past studies showing benefits with mindfulness meditation. But when he looked back over those earlier trials, Tobe found the majority of participants had been taking blood pressure-lowering drugs. In those studies, mindfulness therapy could have worked by helping people take their medicine more consistently, Tobe explained."Few interventions are as powerful as medication," he told Reuters Health. "You can reduce salt intake or lose weight and help lower blood pressure, but high blood pressure medication has a more powerful effect." One in three U.S. adults has high blood pressure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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On its own, Losartan had no effect on breast and pancreatic cancer tumor growth, but when combined losartan with standard chemo drugs, they delayed tumor growth and the mice lived longer. The scientists gave losartan to mice with breast and pancreatic cancer, along with other chemotherapy drugs to test their theory. The researcher discovered that the blood pressure drug improved blood flow around the tumor. This let the chemotherapy drugs be delivered to the target more easily. Mice that were given the blood pressure drug survived much longer than mice given only chemotherapy.

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