High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, affects more than 116 million adults in the United States.
It is one of the main causes of heart attacks, strokes, and other serious health issues. In 2020, it played a part in more than 670,000 deaths. Even though it is very common, many people still have trouble keeping their blood pressure at a healthy level.
Now, scientists at the University of Virginia have made an exciting discovery that could lead to better ways to treat high blood pressure. They found a new process in the body that helps explain how blood pressure is controlled—and why it goes wrong in people with hypertension. This new knowledge might lead to treatments with fewer side effects.
Blood pressure is controlled in part by smooth muscle cells in the walls of our blood vessels. These muscle cells use calcium to tighten (contract) or relax. When the blood vessels tighten, blood pressure goes up. When they relax, blood pressure goes down.
Many people with high blood pressure take medicines called calcium channel blockers. These drugs work by reducing the amount of calcium that enters the muscle cells, helping the blood vessels relax. But calcium is also used for other important body functions, so these medicines can cause side effects like feeling dizzy, swelling in the legs, or feeling tired.
The researchers at the University of Virginia found something new inside these muscle cells. They discovered two tiny areas, which they call “nanodomains.”
These are like tiny control centers that help manage the calcium signals. In healthy people, these nanodomains keep a balance between the signals that tell the blood vessels to tighten and the signals that tell them to relax.
But in people with high blood pressure, the researchers found that this balance is broken. The signals to tighten the blood vessels become too strong, and the signals to relax become too weak. This keeps the blood vessels too tight and raises blood pressure.
This is an important discovery. It means that future treatments could target these nanodomains directly, instead of blocking calcium everywhere in the body. That would help blood vessels relax and lower blood pressure without causing as many side effects.
More research is needed to understand these nanodomains better and how to safely target them with new drugs. But this study is a big step forward. It helps scientists move closer to finding better treatments that deal with the real cause of high blood pressure.
For the millions of people who live with hypertension, this discovery brings new hope. If doctors can one day treat high blood pressure more precisely, people might enjoy better health, fewer side effects from medicine, and a lower risk of heart problems.
This tiny discovery inside blood vessel cells could lead to big changes in how we treat one of the most serious and widespread health conditions in the world.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies about unhealthy habits that may increase high blood pressure risk, and drinking green tea could help lower blood pressure.
For more information about high blood pressure, please see recent studies about what to eat or to avoid for high blood pressure, and 12 foods that lower blood pressure.
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