Have you ever wondered just how many people suffer from adverse drug reactions and how many die from them each year? An article published in the July 2000 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) investigated a variety of factors contributing to American health including adverse drug reactions. Read the rest of this entry »

A study of almost 1,500 women led researchers to conclude that Vitamin D (plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D) levels are “inversely and independently associated with the risk of developing hypertension.” (Hypertension 2008;52:828-832.) Read the rest of this entry »

Research by the University of Maryland School of Medicine has discovered a gene which likely plays a key role in determining blood pressure. Read the rest of this entry »

A recent study exposes the dangers of mixing prescription medications with everyday substances. Read the rest of this entry »

A recent study suggests that getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night increases the risk of calcification in arteries, with calcified arteries found in one third of participants who slept less than 5 hours per night. Read the rest of this entry »

A recent study shows that olive leaf extract may be an effective way to lower blood pressure naturally. Read the rest of this entry »

Known as the “silent killer” high blood pressure plays a major role in overall cardiovascular health. According to the American Heart Association, people with high blood pressure die an average of 5 years earlier than those with normal blood pressure. Read the rest of this entry »

In 1999 a 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted to see if oral coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) lowers blood pressure. Half of the approximately 80 participants with isolated systolic hypertension received 60mg of oral CoQ10 administered twice daily Read the rest of this entry »

A meta study published in the Journal of Hypertension reviewed 36 randomized trials which measured fish oil intake and its effect on blood pressure. The conclusion was that with a median dose of 3.7g/day the reduction in systolic blood pressure was Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever wondered how “120 over 80″ was chosen as “normal” blood pressure? A fascinating article by The Seattle Times explores blood pressure guidelines and the influence drug companies have. Here are some excerpts:

“…study concluded that the newer blood-pressure drugs are less safe, usually no more effective and far more expensive than decades-old drugs such as diuretics.
The study found that lisinopril and amlodipine, two of the drugs Godden was switched to, were no more effective than water pills in preventing deaths.
On the other hand, lisinopril was linked to 60 percent higher frequency of strokes. Amlodipine, which Godden currently takes, was linked to 38 percent more heart attacks and increased rates of suicide and depression.”

The full report can be found at http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/health/sick1.html
“And although the FDA has approved these drugs, it did not require their manufacturers to prove that the new drugs were more effective or safer than older blood-pressure drugs. Nor did the FDA require that the new drugs save more people from heart attacks or strokes than were lost to the drugs’ side effects.”