Tag Archives: Blood pressure

Britain, Health, Medical, Science

The effects of sunshine could cut the risk of having a heart attack…

CARDIAC HEALTH

Scientists have found that a little sunshine could be good for your heart.

Even a short, sharp blast from a tanning lamp can cause blood pressure to fall, a study has shown.

The results suggest that well-meaning advice to avoid the sun to protect against skin cancer may in fact be raising the odds of heart problems.

With high blood pressure trebling the chance of heart attacks and strokes, researchers believe the benefits of sunlight may outweigh the risks of skin cancer.

The study carried out by researchers at Edinburgh and Southampton Universities exposed the skin of 24 healthy young men to a sun lamp for 20 minutes and measured their blood pressure.

Diastolic pressure (the lower of the two figures in a blood pressure reading) dropped significantly and remained low for at least 30 minutes after the lamp was switched off. Studies into sunlight usually credit Vitamin D with any health benefits, but in this case a different compound was found to be at work.

It is thought the UVA rays emitted by the lamp triggered the release of a compound called nitric oxide from the skin. This then travelled to the blood vessels and relaxed them, causing blood pressure to fall.

The researchers first wrote in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology and stated that even a small drop in blood pressure can cut the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The findings could be significant as they could help explain why rates of heart disease go up during the winter months and why cardiac health is worse in countries further from the equator.

Professor Martin Feelisch, from the Faculty of experimental medicine at Southampton University, said it would be important to check to establish whether the benefits are not just limited to a quick blast of UV light in a laboratory but whether they persist in the real world too.

If the sun’s rays do prove to be beneficial for the heart, health advice given on tanning is likely to be reviewed.

Despite the concern about skin cancer, heart disease is a far bigger killer. In Britain, skin cancer kills 2,800 people a year while heart disease and strokes claim more than 160,000 lives annually and every seven minutes someone in the UK dies from a heart attack.

Professor Feelisch said that fear of skin cancer has left some people scared of the sun. Others may not be getting enough sunlight because they spend their work and leisure time indoors.

He added:

… Avoiding excess sunlight exposure is critical to prevent skin cancer but not being exposed to it at all out of fear, or as a result of a certain lifestyle, could increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

… We are concerned that well-meaning advice to reduce comparatively low numbers of deaths from skin cancer may inadvertently increase the risk of death from heart disease and stroke.

Meanwhile, sunshine can also ease the early stages of multiple sclerosis, a separate study found.

MS is a neurological condition affecting around 100,000 people in the UK, causing problems with vision, balance and the bladder.

Research by Harvard School of Public Health found that boosting vitamin D could reduce the severity of MS.

Alberto Ascherio, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard, said:

… Because low vitamin D levels are common and can be easily and safely increased, these findings may contribute to better outcomes for MS patients.

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Health, Medical, Research, Science

Scientists say that taking garlic ‘pills’ can help reduce blood pressure…

ALLEVIATING HYPERTENSION

Scientists have claimed that taking garlic could help to cut blood pressure by 10 per cent – but only if it is taken in the form of tablets.

Twelve weeks of treatment with garlic tablets led to a ‘significant’ cut in blood pressure, slashing the risk of a heart attack or stroke, according to a review of evidence.

Researchers claim those with hypertension or high blood pressure could control their condition better by adding garlic to conventional medicine.

The review of 21 studies on humans found supplements of dried garlic containing a guaranteed dose of the active ingredient allicin consistently led to cuts in blood pressure.

But eating the real thing would not have the same effect, the review concludes.

Although allicin is produced when raw garlic is crushed, much of it is destroyed during cooking. The study, written by nutritionist Dr Pamela Mason, was first published in the journal Complete Nutrition.

Other nutritional experts have said that there was some evidence garlic may use the same mechanism as drugs called ACE inhibitors to lower blood pressure.

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Britain, Health, Medical, Research, Science

A simple surgical operation to cure high blood pressure…

CLINICAL TRIALS START FOR TREATING HYPERTENSION

British scientists believe they could cure millions of patients with hard-to-treat high blood pressure and hypertension.

A simple operation would involve removing a small cluster of nerves in the throat linked to blood pressure regulation.

Researchers from Bristol University are extremely hopeful the measures could help some 2.5 million individuals with hypertension that cannot be controlled by medication.

While scientists have already started a clinical trial on 20 people with high blood pressure – following successful laboratory tests on rats – if the trials prove to be successful and is given the go-ahead, the surgical procedure could be available within three years as a ‘relatively simple’ day treatment for adults. The novel approach successfully ‘cured’ the condition in laboratory rats.

The carotid body is one of the body’s smallest organs but acts as a sensor that detects changes in gas levels in the blood. Sometimes, however, it can become overactive.

The carotid body is one of the body’s smallest organs but acts as a sensor that detects changes in gas levels in the blood. Sometimes, however, it can become overactive.

Known as the silent killer, high blood pressure or hypertension affects a third of adults and significantly raises the odds of heart attacks, strokes and other potentially fatal conditions if left untreated.

At the moment, there is no effective remedy for individuals who do not respond to conventional drug therapies.

But scientists at Bristol’s School of Physiology and Pharmacology identified a key organ in the development of high blood pressure – the carotid body.

It consists of a tiny cluster of nerve cells that sit on the side of the two branches of the carotid artery in the neck, each the size of a grain of rice.

Despite being one of the body’s smallest organs, it has the highest blood flow of them all – reflecting its importance as an early warning device for the brain if there is any change to oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the blood.

In some cases, it is thought the carotid body becomes overactive and sends a message to the brain to keep blood pressure high. Scientists involved in removing the organs in rats with hypertension found that blood pressure fell and remained low.

The study, which was funded by the British Heart Foundation, and first published in the journal Nature Communications, said the animals suffered no adverse side-effects either.

In human trials, only one carotid body would be removed in order to reduce blood pressure while maintaining the organ’s vital regulatory function.

Professor Julian Paton who is the lead researcher on the study, said:

… We know that these tiny organs behaved differently in conditions of hypertension, but had absolutely no idea that they contributed so massively to the generation of high blood pressure; this is really most exciting.

… It certainly has the potential to be a very novel interventional approach to drug-resistant hypertension (high blood pressure).

An estimated 16 million British adults have high blood pressure; a third of whom may be unaware they have the condition.

Patients are often at first advised to alter their lifestyle by taking more exercise, stopping smoking, cutting down on drinking and limiting the salt and fat in their diet.

GPs can also prescribe medication – often a combination of pills – but many patients skip doses because of the side-effects caused by most treatments. Up to 15 per cent of patients – 2.5 million people – also struggle to control their condition using drugs.

Professor Jeremy Pearson, associate medical director at the British Heart Foundation, said:

… This potential new treatment has real promise to help this hard-to-treat group of patients … Many patients can control their blood pressure adequately by lifestyle change and medication so they would not be offered this kind of treatment.

… It is therefore unlikely this treatment will ever be tested as an alternative to standard medication – only as an extra procedure when current drug treatment fails.

A consultant cardiologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospital referred to the breakthrough as an ‘exciting and innovative approach’ and added that current treatments for high blood pressure have serious drawbacks, such as no-one likes taking multiple tablets and that medics are often guilty of not explaining properly why treatment is needed and what benefits might be expected.

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