High blood pressure, also called hypertension, is a serious health issue in the United States.
It can lead to deadly problems like heart disease and stroke.
Right now, tens of millions of adults in the U.S. live with high blood pressure, and many are not able to keep it under control.
In 2020 alone, more than 670,000 deaths were linked to problems caused by high blood pressure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). If blood pressure stays high for too long, it can damage the heart and increase the chance of a stroke or other health issues.
Scientists at the University of Virginia have made a new discovery that could help improve how we treat high blood pressure. Their research shines a light on how the body uses calcium to control blood pressure, and how that process can go wrong.
Inside our blood vessels are special muscle cells called smooth muscle cells. These cells control how tight or relaxed our blood vessels are. To do this, they use calcium. The more calcium inside the cells, the tighter the blood vessels get. When the vessels tighten, blood pressure goes up.
Right now, doctors often treat high blood pressure with medications called calcium channel blockers. These drugs stop calcium from getting into the muscle cells, which helps the blood vessels relax. But calcium is also important for many other jobs in the body. So, when we block calcium everywhere, it can lead to side effects.
The researchers at the University of Virginia found two special control centers inside the smooth muscle cells. These centers work like conductors in an orchestra. They decide when to tighten or relax the blood vessels to keep blood pressure at a healthy level.
But if these control centers don’t work the right way, the blood vessels can stay too tight, which raises blood pressure.
This discovery is important because it gives scientists a new and more exact target for treatment. Instead of blocking all calcium, future medicines could focus just on the parts that are causing the trouble. This could mean fewer side effects and better results.
Even though this research is still in the early stages, it gives hope to millions of people with high blood pressure. It shows a new path forward—one where we understand more about how calcium works in the body and how we can use that knowledge to help people feel better and stay healthy.
In the future, with more research, we might have better ways to treat high blood pressure—ways that are safer, smarter, and more effective.
If you care about blood pressure, please read studies about common blood pressure medication that may extend your healthy life span and common high blood pressure drug linked to sudden cardiac arrest.
For more about blood pressure, please read studies that timing matters when taking high blood pressure pills and 1 in 5 people with high blood pressure taking a drug worsen the disease.
Copyright © 2025 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
