Have you ever wondered why so many people struggle with high blood pressure, also known as hypertension?
It’s a common health issue that affects loads of adults in the United States, and it’s serious because it can lead to heart disease and stroke, two of the main reasons people die in America.
A lot of adults in the U.S., millions in fact, have high blood pressure. What’s more concerning is that many of them don’t even know they have it or aren’t managing it properly.
This is a big deal because not taking care of high blood pressure can really harm your heart and increase the chances of having a stroke and other health problems.
So, what’s new in understanding this health issue? Researchers at the University of Virginia made an exciting discovery that could change how we treat high blood pressure.
They found a key element that plays a huge role in causing high blood pressure. This is a big deal because almost half of American adults deal with this condition.
In 2020, high blood pressure was a factor in over 670,000 deaths in the U.S. When high blood pressure isn’t controlled, it can damage your heart and increase the risk of stroke and other health issues.
Here’s a bit of background: blood pressure is partly controlled by how much calcium is in the cells of your blood vessels. These cells use calcium to help blood vessels tighten or relax as needed. Usually, doctors treat high blood pressure with medicines called “calcium blockers.”
These medicines reduce the movement of calcium, but they can have side effects. They affect other parts of the body too because they block a process used by many organs.
So, finding a way to deal with the bad effects of calcium without messing with the good effects would be great for people with high blood pressure.
In their study, the researchers found two important spots in the cells that control calcium and blood pressure. They called these spots “nanodomains.”
Think of them like conductors of an orchestra, but for blood vessels. They tell the vessels when to tighten and when to relax.
These nanodomains are really important for keeping blood pressure normal. The scientists found that when something goes wrong with these nanodomains, it can lead to high blood pressure.
In their experiments with mice and in people with high blood pressure, they noticed that the balance between these nanodomains gets messed up. This causes the blood vessels to tighten too much, which raises blood pressure.
These discoveries are exciting because they help us understand how our bodies control blood pressure. They also give scientists new ideas for developing treatments that target the root causes of high blood pressure, not just the symptoms.
The goal is to create treatments that don’t mess with the good effects of calcium. This will need more research and a deeper understanding of how our bodies use calcium.
This study, published in the journal Circulation, opens up new possibilities for treating high blood pressure in a more targeted and effective way.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about blood pressure drug that may increase risk of sudden cardiac arrest, and these teas could help reduce high blood pressure.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about nutrient that could strongly lower high blood pressure, and results showing this novel antioxidant may help reverse blood vessels aging by 20 years.
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