A new medical breakthrough may help doctors cure high blood pressure in many people by finding tiny trouble spots in the body that were hard to detect before.
Scientists in the UK have developed a new type of CT scan that can easily spot small lumps, or nodules, in the adrenal glands.
These glands sit above the kidneys and sometimes release too much of a hormone called aldosterone, which can cause high blood pressure.
The new scan, created by doctors from Queen Mary University of London, Barts Hospital, and Cambridge University Hospital, was tested in a study published in the journal Nature Medicine. The results were very promising and could lead to better, faster treatment for patients with high blood pressure that doesn’t respond well to normal medicine.
For years, doctors knew that hormone-releasing nodules could cause high blood pressure, but there was no easy way to find them. The only test that worked was a complex and painful procedure involving a catheter placed into the veins of the adrenal glands.
This test is difficult, only available in a few hospitals, and often does not give clear results. Because of this, many people with this kind of high blood pressure were not properly diagnosed or treated.
The new CT scan changes everything. It uses a special dye called metomidate, which is slightly radioactive. This dye sticks only to the overactive nodule that produces too much aldosterone.
When scanned, the nodule “lights up,” making it easy for doctors to see exactly where the problem is. The scan is safe, quick, and painless. In the study, it worked in every single patient.
Researchers tested the scan on 128 people who had high blood pressure linked to high levels of aldosterone. They found that in about two-thirds of them, only one adrenal gland was affected.
That means they could have surgery to remove the faulty gland and possibly cure their high blood pressure completely. In fact, 18 out of 24 people in the study were able to stop taking blood pressure pills after surgery.
Even better, when doctors combined the scan with a simple urine test, they could predict who would be cured by the surgery. This means that treatment can become more personalized. Instead of trying different pills for years, patients could now get a scan, take a test, and possibly be cured with a single surgery.
Many people with high blood pressure don’t know why they have it. But past research shows that about 1 in 10 people with high blood pressure have a gene change in their adrenal glands that makes them produce too much aldosterone. This hormone causes the body to hold on to salt, raising blood pressure and making the condition hard to control.
Professor Morris Brown, one of the lead researchers, explained that these nodules are often too small to see with regular scans. But thanks to this new method, they become clearly visible for a few minutes after the injection. He hopes the test will soon be used in more hospitals so that many more people can get the right diagnosis and treatment.
Professor William Drake, another senior researcher, said this study was made possible by the hard work of many scientists, even during the tough times of the pandemic.
This discovery could lead to a whole new way of treating high blood pressure. Instead of taking medicine for life, some people may be able to remove the cause of the problem and live without high blood pressure at all.
The researchers are hopeful that this scan will soon become a routine test and help many people avoid the long-term dangers of heart attacks and strokes.
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