Millions of people around the world live with high blood pressure, and treating it effectively can sometimes be tricky.
But scientists at University College London (UCL) have developed a quick and easy scan that could change everything.
Their new scan takes just 10 minutes and might help doctors figure out the real cause of high blood pressure in many patients—something that’s often missed with current testing methods.
High blood pressure can be caused by many things, but about one in four people with this condition may have a problem with their adrenal glands. These are small organs above the kidneys that make a hormone called aldosterone.
Aldosterone helps control how much salt is in your body. If your body makes too much of it, your blood pressure can go up. This condition is called primary aldosteronism, and it can also increase the risk of heart disease, strokes, and kidney problems.
Right now, it’s hard to spot this problem. Doctors usually start with a blood test, followed by a second test to confirm the diagnosis. Then, to figure out where the problem is coming from, patients have to go through a very complex procedure where thin tubes are inserted into their veins.
This test measures aldosterone levels on both sides of the body, but it isn’t very accurate and not many hospitals can do it.
That’s where this new scan comes in. Researchers at UCL used a type of imaging called a PET-CT scan. It takes detailed pictures inside the body and can show where certain chemicals are building up. The scientists created a special tracer—a tiny amount of a radioactive substance—that sticks to the enzyme responsible for making aldosterone.
When injected into the body, the tracer travels to the adrenal glands and lights up the areas that are producing too much aldosterone.
The researchers tested this scan on 17 patients and found that it worked in every case. They could clearly see which parts of the adrenal glands were overactive, and the patients didn’t have any side effects from the scan.
This means doctors can now tell whether one or both adrenal glands are causing the problem and decide whether surgery or medication is the best solution.
Professor Bryan Williams, the clinical lead on the study, called this a breakthrough. He said doctors have been hoping for a test like this for many years.
With this scan, it will be much easier to find out who has too much aldosterone and how to treat them properly. It could make a big difference for patients who haven’t responded well to regular blood pressure treatments.
The idea for this scan came from more than ten years of research. Professor Erik Arstad and his team at UCL developed a way to turn drug-like molecules into tracers that can be seen on a PET scan. By changing just one atom in a molecule, they made it visible inside the body, which allowed them to spot the overactive parts of the adrenal glands.
Now, the researchers are starting a larger study to collect more data and hopefully get approval to use the scan widely in the NHS. In the U.K. alone, more than 14 million people have high blood pressure, and this new test could help many of them get better, more targeted treatment.
This innovation not only brings hope for better care but also shows the power of research to improve everyday health. If doctors can find the exact cause of someone’s high blood pressure, they can treat it more effectively and reduce the risk of serious health problems later on.
If you care about high blood pressure, please read studies that early time-restricted eating could help improve blood pressure, and natural coconut sugar could help reduce blood pressure and artery stiffness.
For more information about blood pressure, please see recent studies about How to eat your way to healthy blood pressure and results showing that Modified traditional Chinese cuisine can lower blood pressure.
The study is published in New England Journal of Medicine.
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