High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a major health concern. Similar to an overinflated balloon that’s at risk of bursting, high blood pressure in humans can lead to heart diseases, strokes, and other complications.
For many, the cause remains unknown, and lifelong medication is required to manage it.
Innovative Discovery
A research team from Queen Mary University of London, Barts Hospital, and Cambridge University Hospital utilized a novel CT scan technique.
This identified minute lumps in a hormone gland, and removing them resolved the high blood pressure issue. These lumps were present in 5% of individuals with hypertension.
This research, featured in Nature Medicine, addressed a six-decade-old challenge of detecting these hormone-producing lumps.
Traditionally, only a few hospitals could conduct the complex test required to detect them, and the test frequently failed.
The team’s new approach, combining a scan with a urine test, successfully identified patients who could cease all blood pressure medications post-treatment.
Study Details
Out of 128 participants, two-thirds were found to have their hypertension caused by the hormone aldosterone, produced by a benign lump in one adrenal gland.
This lump was safely removable. The utilized scan involved a dye named metomidate, which adheres only to the aldosterone-producing lump.
This dye is radioactive but harmless. It proved as effective as the old test, but with the advantages of being quick, painless, and universally effective.
Medical Insights
Professor Morris Brown, a leader of the study, pointed out the significance of the new injection.
It causes the lumps to momentarily glow, clearly pinpointing them as the source of the high blood pressure, facilitating curative measures. In the past, the vast majority of these lumps went undetected due to the limitations of testing methods.
Professor William Drake, another pivotal figure in the study, emphasized the years of dedication and collaboration that went into the research.
The Role of Aldosterone in Hypertension
Previous studies by the same group showed that 5-10% of hypertension cases are due to a genetic mutation in the adrenal glands, leading them to overproduce aldosterone.
This hormone makes the body retain salt, elevating blood pressure. Those with excess aldosterone usually don’t respond effectively to conventional blood pressure medications and have a heightened risk of heart attacks and strokes.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about cannabis linked to blood pressure reduction in older people, and this common plant nutrient could help reduce high blood pressure.
For more information about health, please see recent studies about how to live with high blood pressure, and results showing common antimicrobial in toothpaste was linked to inflammation in the gut.
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