New lung disease center opens in North Haven
What Causes High Blood Pressure?
"Everyone faces the same risks when it comes to hypertension," says Ashul Govil, M.D., cardiologist and chief medical officer at Story Health in San Francisco. Exact causes of hypertension can vary, depending on your age, race and sex. But according to Dr. Govil, general factors that could contribute to high blood pressure include:
High blood pressure is common as people age, says Allen Jeremias, M.D., director of interventional cardiology research at St. Francis Hospital & Heart Center in New York. With age, blood vessels become less elastic, which causes blood pressure to rise, explains Dr. Jeremias. "This process can be accelerated by excessive salt and alcohol [consumption], as well as a lack of regular physical activity."
Older adults also tend to experience higher levels of inflammation, which is linked to hypertension as well, though its exact role remains unclear.
What Causes High Blood Pressure in Young Adults?High blood pressure affects approximately one in eight people between the ages of 20 and 40, according to research in the journal Hypertension . For the vast majority of young adults, genetic predisposition and unhealthy lifestyle factors drive high blood pressure, says Dr. Jeremias.
Less often, an underlying medical cause may play a role in the development of high blood pressure during young adulthood, such as:
Hospital-Grade Accuracy For Your Home
Oxiline blood pressure monitors enable you to view, store, and share all of your data with smartphone connectivity.
What Causes High Blood Pressure in Men?On average, men are more likely to have high blood pressure before age 55 than women, according to the National Institute on Aging, though it's unclear why .
"There aren't many unique causes of hypertension for men, since the original research that found the traditional causes of high blood pressure was mostly done in middle-aged men," explains Dr. Govil. However, certain risk factors may be more prevalent in men than women. For example, global data suggests obesity may be more common among men in some countries, including the U.S., according to research in the Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome .
What Causes High Blood Pressure in Women?After age 65, women develop a greater risk of high blood pressure than men. That shift seems to coincide with menopause, which occurs at an average age of 51, although the link isn't well understood.
Menopause may increase a woman's sensitivity to sodium in her diet, according to Wanpen Vongpatanasin, M.D., professor in the UT Southwestern Department of Internal Medicine. Salty foods are closely associated with high blood pressure, which could explain the link.
In pre-menopausal women, both pregnancy and oral contraception could increase risk of high blood pressure, says Dr. Govil.
What Causes High Blood Pressure During Pregnancy?High blood pressure affects one in every 12 to 17 pregnancies among those between the ages of 20 and 44, reports the CDC . Left unchecked, it could lead to complications like preeclampsia, which can endanger both the pregnant person and their baby.
High blood pressure during pregnancy is more common if the person has a history of hypertension, experienced it with a previous pregnancy or is currently pregnant with more than one baby, explains Dr. Govil.
According to Dr. Govil, other factors that could contribute to high blood pressure during pregnancy include:
Ultra-Processed Food Can Raise Risk Of Cognitive Decline And Stroke
A diet with more ultra-processed foods, such as prepackaged meals, deli meats, potato chips, sodas, and sweetened breakfast cereals, is associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline and stroke, new research found.
For the study, scientists examined roughly a decade of data on eating habits, cognitive function, and stroke for about 30,000 adults starting in their mid-sixties. None of the participants had a history of cognitive impairment at the start of the study. By the end of follow-up, 1,108 people had a stroke and 768 people developed cognitive impairment.
Higher consumption of ultra-processed foods was linked with an 8 percent greater risk of stroke and a 12 percent higher risk of accelerated cognitive decline, according to study results published in Neurology.[1]
At the same time, people who ate the most unprocessed or minimally processed foods had a 9 percent lower risk of stroke.
"Our study provides a reason to be mindful of the food we eat," says the senior study author, W. Taylor Kimberly, MD, PhD, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and the chief of neurocritical care at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. "Not only should we aim to increase the amount of healthy foods, such as leafy greens, nuts, and fish-based protein, but we should also aim to reduce the amount of prepackaged foods and sweet and salty snacks."
Small Changes in Ultra-Processed Food Consumption MatterThe study also found that small dietary changes can make a meaningful difference for brain health.
Each 10 percent increase in the amount of unprocessed and minimally processed foods participants consumed was associated with a 12 percent lower risk of accelerated cognitive decline. And each 10 percent increase in consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with a 16 percent higher risk of accelerated cognitive decline.
The negative impact of ultra-processed foods and the benefits of unprocessed or minimally processed foods persisted even when people followed diets known to promote brain health such as the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet, or the MIND diet, according to the study. These diets all encourage consuming more plant-based meals, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and nuts and recommend limiting intake of ultra-processed foods, red meat, and sugary foods and drinks.
Generally speaking, ultra-processed foods tend to be the most heavily processed packaged products available in the grocery store. These are typically industrial foods made almost entirely of substances extracted from things like oils, fats, sugars, starches, and proteins, or synthesized in labs and factories with few, if any, ingredients that come directly from natural plant or animal sources.
Take potatoes. The whole potato you buy in the produce aisle isn't processed at all, and canned potatoes are minimally processed. But potato chips and frozen hash browns are ultra-processed.
Why Ultra-Processed Foods Might Be Bad for Brain HealthThe study wasn't designed to prove whether or how ultra-processed foods might directly cause cognitive decline or stroke but simply looked for an association.
But researchers do have theories about why ultra-processed food might pose a risk to cognitive function. It's possible that substances used to process foods and give them a long shelf life might be bad for the brain, says Glen Finney, MD, a professor and the director of the memory and cognition program at Geisinger Health in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
"There are often chemicals and other substances added to ultra-processed foods that are different from what we would have eaten in traditionally prepared foods, and some of those may have brain health risks," says Dr. Finney, who wasn't involved in the new study. "It's still something that we need to know more about."
Beyond this, ultra-processed foods tend to provide a lot of calories from unhealthy ingredients, says Yu Chen, MPH, PhD, a professor of epidemiology at New York University Grossman School of Medicine in Manhattan who wasn't involved in the new study.
"These foods contain added ingredients like sugar, salt, fat, artificial colors, and preservatives, as well as substances extracted from foods such as fats and starches," Dr. Chen says. "Components like fat can trigger inflammation, possibly leading to vascular dysfunction and impacting cognitive functions."
What's the Best Way to Eat for a Healthy Brain?To promote brain health over time, people should limit ultra-processed foods as much as they can and try to incorporate as many whole foods as possible, says Andrew Budson, MD, a professor of neurology at Boston University and a coauthor of Seven Steps to Managing Your Aging Memory.
"Don't eat processed foods, which can include chips, industrial breads and pastries, packaged sweets and candy, sugar and diet sodas, instant noodles and soups, ready-to-eat meals and frozen dinners, and processed meats such as hot dogs and bologna," says Budson, who wasn't involved in the new study."Simply eat unprocessed or minimally processed foods, which — when combined with a healthy Mediterranean menu of foods — include fish, olive oil, avocados, whole fruits and vegetables, nuts and beans, and whole grains," he adds.
How To Achieve Zero Strokes And Heart Attacks For All
How to achieve zero strokes and heart attacks for all
Emerging technologies are fundamentally transforming healthcare.
In the last few years, telemedicine and remote patient monitoring solutions have become more commonplace, while AI is being used to develop new drugs and vaccines, predict heart attack risks, detect cancers and even treat strokes.
The coronavirus pandemic rapidly accelerated the trend for telehealth and at-home medical monitoring as patient movement became restricted and hospitals grew increasingly overwhelmed with cases. These innovations have helped bolster and supplement existing healthcare infrastructure while raising the prospect that emerging digital tools can allow effective, remote treatment of millions of patients worldwide.
One medical condition into which these new digital technologies promise significant inroads is hypertension. WHO figures show hypertension affects 1 in 3 adults globally, more than 1.2bn people. Known as the "silent killer", the condition is one of the leading causes of death, elevating risks of stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney damage and other health problems.
The number of hypertension patients has increased globally over the last few decades, especially in low- and middle-income countries. More worryingly, nearly half of those affected are unaware they are hypertensive. In many cases, the condition is only discovered after a patient visits an emergency room for another reason.
While the worst of the pandemic is now behind us, nearly half of the global population still lacks access to basic diagnosis and medical treatment for common conditions such as hypertension.
Healthcare accessibility is therefore a crucial priority for global health outcomes and poverty alleviation. Emergent medical technologies can help overcome physical distances for patients in remote locations and aid overstretched doctors and nurses in underserved areas. Equally important, these innovations must make healthcare accessible economically not just for the privileged few, but as a fundamental right for all.
Raising awareness and availability of hypertension monitoring"One of the longstanding challenges in reducing hypertension is that of awareness. Many people still do not realise that the condition needs to be monitored regularly and treated," says Daisuke Nozaki, general manager of cardiovascular disease business planning strategy at OMRON.
Daisuke Nozaki, general manager of cardiovascular disease business planning strategy at OMRON.
Since releasing its first home-use blood pressure monitor in 1973, OMRON has sold a cumulative 350m devices and is today recognised as a global leader in the field. Over half a century, it has made monitors available to patients in over 130 countries globally and expanded its line-up of products to be affordable at different price points. In 2022, it announced an ambitious long-term company vision known as "Going for Zero", which involves monitoring hypertension to eliminate heart attacks and strokes.
Despite efforts to educate the public and practitioners about hypertension, there is still wide variation in the rates of home monitoring devices across countries, even in nations with a growing middle class such as India, where only 5 per cent of households have home monitors. Overall, many people remain unaware of the risks of hypertension. Nozaki says OMRON has accelerated its outreach efforts in recent years with IT tools, including the establishment of a free medical e-learning platform called OMRON Academy for medical professionals.
The company has sold 350 million home-use blood pressure monitors.
Business of the heartManaging hypertension effectively requires more than infrequent blood pressure checks during medical appointments. Patients who consistently and accurately monitor fluctuations in their blood pressure can share more comprehensive data with healthcare providers, ensuring better treatment plans.
To achieve this ideal, OMRON has launched the firm's first remote patient monitoring (RPM) service for patients with high-risk levels of hypertension. This service allows patients to measure biological data sets from home with clinically approved devices and share their data easily with healthcare professionals.
Patients plug in their cellular-connected data hub, which is pre-paired to the monitor, to start the service. Patients who do not have a home WiFi connection can therefore still access the RPM service.
OMRON's remote patient monitoring service for patients with high-risk levels of hypertension.
Such remote monitoring has been shown to have therapeutic and economic benefits. In a clinical study with Northwestern University, hypertensive patients in the United States recommended to use OMRON's RPM solution were found to have controlled their condition at significantly higher rates compared with a control group. In a separate study conducted jointly with insurance firm Highmark, those using OMRON's RPM services saved on treatment costs for cardiovascular diseases by 46 per cent (an average of $108 per month), compared to those not using the service.
Along with measuring and monitoring, the next step to battling hypertension is to predict when medical events may occur. One strategy is monitoring atrial fibrillation (A-fib), a form of heart arrhythmia. People with A-fib are estimated to be five times more likely to develop a stroke than those without. Moreover, the condition is difficult to detect only through occasional checks at the hospital and is better managed through regular monitoring at home. OMRON has also released a device that can analyse ECG data to check for A-fib within one 30-second sitting.
The company is working with Kyoto University to develop AI technology for personalised blood pressure management, using these and other devices. By analysing biological data sets and habits, researchers are working to detect abnormal data and better predict potential medical events.
Going for Zero for over fifty yearsMed-tech solutions achieve true accessibility when they are practical, cost-effective and thereby capable of bridging geographic, digital and socio-economic divides. With "Going for Zero", OMRON aims to position itself at the forefront of this positive trend, ensuring that healthcare innovations reach the broadest possible audience.
"Although we have been selling blood pressure monitors for decades, we realise that it's not how many monitors we sell that's important for society, but how many medical events that cause deaths and complications are reduced," says Nozaki. "We therefore shifted our vision to a goal of 'Going for Zero' and are working towards it broadly by utilising emerging technologies."
Besides fighting hypertension, the company has also committed to minimising respiratory disease and chronic pain, conditions that impact hundreds of millions worldwide, by developing and distributing devices to support treatments and diagnoses.
Find out more about OMRON
Comments
Post a Comment