August 17, 2020

Get Dizzy When Standing Up? It Could Be Risk Factor for Dementia

FRIDAY, Aug. 14, 2020 -- Feeling woozy when you stand up may be a sign of an increased risk of developing dementia, a new study suggests.

Doctors call this feeling "orthostatic hypotension," and it occurs when there's a sudden drop in blood pressure as you stand, explained a team of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

August 3, 2020

Nearly a Third of Young Black Americans Have High Blood Pressure

MONDAY, Aug. 3, 2020 -- High blood pressure is often seen as a condition of old age, but a new study finds that it's common among young Americans -- especially young Black adults.

The study, of 18- to 44-year-olds in the United States, found that high blood pressure was prevalent across all racial groups: Among both white and Mexican American participants, 22% had the condition.

August 3, 2020

AHA News: Sustained High Blood Pressure May Damage Brain Vessels

FRIDAY, July 31, 2020 (American Heart Association News) -- Having high blood pressure for long periods may increase the chance of small vessel damage in the brain, which has been linked to dementia and stroke, according to a new study.

Scientists have long known high blood pressure, also called hypertension, can lead to stroke, and past studies also have connected it to Alzheimer's disease. The new research, published Friday in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension, zeroed in on how high blood pressure impacts cerebral small vessel disease, the most frequent type of vascular brain disease in people with stroke and dementia.

July 17, 2020

AHA News: High Blood Pressure Increasingly Deadly for Black People

MONDAY, July 13, 2020 (American Heart Association News) -- Cardiovascular deaths related to high blood pressure, often called a silent killer, continued to rise over the last two decades, according to new research, which showed stark health inequities.

Black people had a nearly twofold higher mortality rate than their white peers for hypertension-related heart disease deaths in 2018, according to the study. That year, the death rate for Black men was 206.6 per 100,000 people, compared with 117.2 for white men. The death rates were 132.7 for Black women and 81.5 for white women. That's even after white men experienced the greatest spike during the entire research period.

July 12, 2020

More Young Americans Developing Unhealthy Predictors of Heart Disease

TUESDAY, June 23, 2020 -- A new study finds that 1 in 5 people under age 40 now have metabolic syndrome, a group of risk factors that together increase the odds for many serious conditions, including diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

The rate of metabolic syndrome is rising in all age groups -- as many as half of adults over 60 have it. But among 20- to 39-year-olds, the rate rose 5 percentage points over five years, the study reported.

July 12, 2020

Poor Americans Likely to Miss Preventive Heart Screenings: Study

FRIDAY, May 15, 2020 -- Low-income Americans are much less likely to be screened for heart disease or to receive counseling about controlling risk factors, a new study finds.

Heart health screenings -- such as regular blood pressure and cholesterol checks -- and counseling to improve diet, increase exercise or quit smoking play important roles in reducing heart disease risk.