Scientists at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have made a discovery that could change how we understand and treat high blood pressure.
They found that a hormone called aldosterone might be responsible for more cases of high blood pressure than doctors previously thought.
This hormone is often overlooked, but it could be the hidden reason why many people develop serious heart problems.
High blood pressure, also known as hypertension, affects over 1.5 billion people around the world. It is one of the top causes of heart disease and stroke. One known cause of high blood pressure is a condition called primary aldosteronism.
This happens when the adrenal glands—small organs that sit on top of the kidneys—produce too much of the hormone aldosterone.
Aldosterone helps the body manage salt and water levels, which in turn controls blood pressure. But when there is too much aldosterone in the body, it can cause blood pressure to rise to dangerous levels. Until now, primary aldosteronism was believed to be a rare condition. Most doctors focused on other more common causes of high blood pressure.
However, this new study suggests that primary aldosteronism is not rare at all. It may actually be common, especially among people with harder-to-treat blood pressure.
Researchers studied people with different blood pressure levels—from normal to mild, and even severe high blood pressure. What they found was striking: people with higher blood pressure also had higher levels of aldosterone.
Even more surprising, most of the people with high aldosterone levels would not have been diagnosed under today’s medical guidelines. That means many people could be living with undetected primary aldosteronism and receiving treatments that don’t fully address the root cause of their condition.
The researchers believe we need to change the way we think about this disease. Instead of treating it as something rare, they say doctors should recognize it as a common cause of high blood pressure. If more patients are tested for excess aldosterone, many of them could get better treatment and possibly reduce their risk of heart attacks and strokes.
The good news is that there are already medications available to block the effects of aldosterone. These drugs, known as aldosterone blockers, are affordable, safe, and used in many clinics around the world. By using them more widely, doctors could help many more patients manage their blood pressure more effectively.
This important research was led by Dr. Jenifer M. Brown and was published in the medical journal Annals of Internal Medicine. The findings could lead to new ways of diagnosing and treating high blood pressure, giving hope to millions of people who are struggling to control their condition.
If doctors start looking for this hidden hormone more often, many patients may finally find the real reason behind their high blood pressure—and a better path to good health.
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