AHA: Blood Pressure Guidelines, One Year Later: Monitoring the Change

TUESDAY, Nov. 27, 2018 (American Heart Association) -- Tim Landis was a healthy 66-year-old who hiked, biked and jogged, wasn't overweight and watched what he ate. But after he died suddenly of a heart attack in January, tests revealed years of untreated high blood pressure that caused cardiovascular disease.

At his annual physicals, Tim's systolic blood pressure (the top number) was usually in the 130s and his diastolic blood pressure (the bottom number) in the 80s, said his wife Debra. A year ago, that wasn't considered high.

Smoking Bans Might Help Nonsmokers' Blood Pressure

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 21, 2018 -- Smoking bans in public places might protect more than the lungs of nonsmokers, with new research suggesting a beneficial effect on blood pressure.

"We found that nonsmoking adults in the study who lived in areas with smoke-free laws in restaurants, bars or workplaces had lower systolic [top number] blood pressure by the end of the follow-up period compared to those who lived in areas without smoke-free laws," said lead author Stephanie Mayne. She is a research scientist at the Center for Pediatric Clinical Effectiveness at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Must Blood Pressure Rise With Age? Remote Tribes Hold Clues

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 14, 2018 -- Contrary to common belief, blood pressure doesn't have to rise as you age, a study of two remote South American tribes suggests.

Looking at the isolated Yanomami tribe in the Venezuelan rainforest, researchers found their blood pressure remained low from youth to age 60.

High Blood Pressure in Young Adults Tied to Earlier Strokes

TUESDAY, Nov. 6, 2018 -- Two new studies suggest that when people under 40 develop high blood pressure, their risk of early heart disease and stroke go up significantly.

The first study found that in a group of about 5,000 young American adults, having high blood pressure was linked to as much as a 3.5 times higher risk of heart disease and stroke.

Uncontrolled Blood Pressure? Maybe It's Time to Check Your Shins

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 24, 2018 -- If you're on multiple medications and your high blood pressure is still not under control, you might want to ask your doctor to check the lead levels in your shin bones.

Researchers found a link between the two, and they noted that standard blood tests didn't spot rising lead levels while the shin bone test did.