Newswise — NEW YORK, May 23, 2011, 11:00 AM EDT – Data unveiled today during the late-breaking press briefing of the American Society of Hypertension Inc.'s 26th Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition (ASH 2011) explores the affect of spaceflight on BP, evaluates masked hypertension in African Americans, investigates the genetics of hypertension, and examines a new potential combination treatment to reduce blood pressure (BP).
“Hypertension is responsible for more cardiovascular disease in the United States and the world than any other risk factor. As the incidence of hypertension, especially resistant hypertension, continues to dramatically increase in the United States and the world, it is imperative that healthcare providers are able to better identify and effectively treat patients with hypertension,” said ASH press briefing moderator Robert A. Phillips, MD, PhD, Senior Vice-President and Director, Heart and Vascular Center of Excellence, UMass Memorial Medical Center and Professor of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School. “The findings presented today contribute to the growing understanding of hypertension and further the search for new screening and treatment options to reduce uncontrolled high blood pressure.”Studies highlighted in the press briefing include:
Longterm (3 - 5 months) Spaceflight Promotes a Sustained Decrease in Blood Pressure and Systemic Vascular Resistance in Astronauts
Researchers found that the systolic/diastolic BP of astronauts decreased during spaceflight. Additionally, cardiac output increased, while systemic vascular resistance decreased, which accounted for the decrease in BP. The findings indicate that gravity on Earth modulates BP in humans.
“That long-term spaceflights decreases BP indicates to us that the daily gravitational load on our bodies increases it,” explains lead study author Peter Norsk, MD, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. “Whether this has implications for understanding mechanisms of hypertension should be a focus of future interest. Perhaps our modern lifestyle of being upright seated during hours of work during the day, whereby gravity from head to feet induces high pressure gradients in the blood circulation, is a factor for developing high BP. Spaceflight experiments might deliver some answers in the future.”
Consistency of Masked Hypertension in African Americans during Repeat Office Visits
Data suggest that hypertension in African Americans may not always be identified by a single doctor’s office visit. The findings provide further evidence that African Americans have a high prevalence of masked hypertension, which occurs when BP levels are normal when measured inside the doctor’s office, but increase when measured outside the doctor’s office when evaluated with ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.
“Our data further reinforce the role of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, which can help identify patients who have high blood pressure, but do not present as such during doctor office visits,” explains lead study author Praveen Veerabhadrappa MD, MS, Research Fellow, International Society of Hypertension Doctoral Candidate, Hypertension Molecular & Applied Physiology Lab. “In addition, ambulatory blood pressure monitoring is an important tool in identifying white coat hypertension.”
Azilsartan Medoxomil plus Chlorthalidone Reduces BP More Effectively than Olmesartan plus HCTZ in Stage 2 Systolic Hypertension
A randomized, double-blind, 12-week trial finds that fixed-dosed combination treatment with azilsartan medoxomil and chlorthalidone (AZL-M/CLD), an ARB and a diuretic, was superior to treatment with fixed-dose combination treatment with olmesartan medoxomil and thiazide diuretic hydrochlorothiazide (OLM/HCTZ), also an ARB and a diuretic, in reducing systolic BP.
“This is the first large, forced-titration study of a long-acting angiotensin II receptor blocker and chlorthalidone combination treatment,” explains William Cushman, MD, Professor of Preventive Medicine, Medicine, and Physiology, University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Memphis, Tennessee. “Our results demonstrated superior efficacy in reducing blood pressure when compared to the fixed-dose combination of olmesartan medoxomil and thiazide diuretic hydrocholorothiazide.”
About the American Society of HypertensionThe American Society of Hypertension, Inc. (ASH) is the largest U.S. professional organization of scientific investigators and healthcare professionals committed to eliminating hypertension and its consequences. ASH is dedicated to promoting strategies to prevent hypertension and to improving the care of patients with hypertension and associated disorders. The Society serves as a scientific forum that bridges current hypertension research with effective clinical treatment strategies for patients. For more information, please visit www.ash-us.org.
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