Connect with us

News

Aggressive Blood Pressure Management: Lifesaving or Risky? 

Aggressive Blood Pressure Management: Lifesaving or Risky? 

United States: Research from a major clinical trial indicates that aggressive blood pressure management produces more health benefits than possible risks for senior-aged adults. 

More about the news 

Tight blood pressure control at 120 systolic brought about positive medical outcomes for 85 percent of study participants, according to research findings. 

Study findings demonstrate that the decreased dangers of premature death and heart disease outweigh the medical complications that might stem from aggressive blood pressure reduction, including kidney-related issues and dangerously low blood pressure. 

According to Dr. Simon Ascher, the senior investigator and an assistant clinical professor at the University of California-Davis, “Almost all … participants aged 65 years or greater had a predicted net benefit that favored a systolic blood pressure target of less than 120 mm Hg over a systolic blood pressure target of less than 140 mm Hg,” US News reported. 

Systolic blood pressure refers to pressure within blood vessels during a heartbeat. 

Aggressive Blood Pressure Management: Lifesaving or Risky? 
Aggressive Blood Pressure Management: Lifesaving or Risky? 

About major findings 

The experts state that elderly patients, weak seniors, and the ones taking several different medications derived “greater absolute harms from intensive blood pressure lowering,” along with higher levels of heart disease, cognitive downfall, and death rate outcomes. 

Major US cardiology groups updated their high blood pressure definition through data collected in the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) in 2017. 

Blood pressure at 130 systolic stands as the standard classification of “high” since 2018 following the initial SPRINT findings when the previous target was lower than 140 systolic. 

Regular blood pressure falls below 120 systolic, and resting blood pressure from 120 to 130 remains elevated rather than high. 

The research team performed a detailed examination of approximately 5,100 elderly individuals enrolled in SPRINT and then evaluated those on aggressive treatment versus standard target treatment (140 systolic). 

Aggressive Blood Pressure Management: Lifesaving or Risky? 
Aggressive Blood Pressure Management: Lifesaving or Risky? 

The researchers concluded, “These findings indicate that when accounting for an individual’s estimated risks and outcome preferences, the benefits of intensive BP lowering outweigh the harms for most SPRINT-eligible, community-dwelling older adults with hypertension, especially among high-risk subgroups who are often assumed to neither tolerate nor benefit from intensive BP lowering,” US News reported. 

“These findings indicate that when accounting for an individual’s estimated risks and outcome preferences, the benefits of intensive BP lowering outweigh the harms for most SPRINT-eligible, community-dwelling older adults with hypertension, especially among high-risk subgroups who are often assumed to neither tolerate nor benefit from intensive BP lowering,” researchers concluded. 

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

23% drop in Heart Attack & Stroke Risks in Diabetic Patients! 

23% drop in Heart Attack & Stroke Risks in Diabetic Patients! 

United States: The global number of chronic kidney disease patients stands at 840 million, according to researchers, since this condition causes permanent kidney harm, resulting in reduced organ function. 

Diabetes affects approximately 828 million individuals internationally since their bodies do not produce or process insulin effectively. 

The majority of diabetes patients, or 95 percent, suffer from type 2 diabetes, according to expert estimates. 

More about the news 

The two distinct chronic conditions create a relationship because type 2 diabetes affects one in every three adults who develops permanent kidney conditions. 

People who have type 2 diabetes or chronic kidney disease develop elevated risks of experiencing patients Heart attacks and Stroke as cardiovascular complications. 

A recent paper in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology demonstrates that sotagliflozin, which functions as type 2 diabetes and kidney disease therapy for heart disease patients, can minimize stroke and heart attack incidences, Medical News Today reported. 

23% drop in Heart Attack & Stroke Risks in Diabetic Patients! 
23% drop in Heart Attack & Stroke Risks in Diabetic Patients! 

Research findings 

The research evaluated individuals suffering from type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease together with existing heart disease risks. The research subjects either used a placebo or took the medication sotagliflozin. 

According to Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, MBA, director of Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and the Dr. Valentin Fuster Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and lead author of this study, “The SCORED trial examined patients with diabetes, kidney disease, and additional cardiovascular risks, because of the known high rate of cardiac problems these people face,” Medical News Today reported. 

“We saw a significant benefit in terms of fewer heart failure and adverse kidney events. We wanted to see if heart attack and stroke risks might also be reduced,” he added. 

Furthermore, “(Sotagliflozin) is a drug that blocks a receptor in the kidneys, called SGLT2 (sodium-glucose cotransporter 2), leading to glucose elimination in the urine, among many additional effects,” Bhatt noted. 

“Other popular medications such as empagliflozin and dapagliflozin also block this receptor,” he continued. 

23% drop in Heart Attack & Stroke Risks in Diabetic Patients! 
23% drop in Heart Attack & Stroke Risks in Diabetic Patients! 

Bhatt and his team examined the data of approximately 10,600 participants from the SCORED trial who got sotagliflozin or placebo treatment between 2017 and 2020, followed for nearly 16 months. 

Scientists conducting the study discovered that people given sotagliflozin in the study reduced their chances of heart attack and stroke alongside cardiovascular death risks by 23 percent when compared to placebo recipients. 

“The benefit occurred within just three months of starting the drug, which is … quite remarkable to see such an early effect in a stable, outpatient population,” Bhatt noted. 

“Examined separately, there was a 32% reduction in heart attack and a 34% reduction in stroke,” he continued. 

“People with diabetes and kidney disease are at very high risk of cardiovascular complications, such as heart attack and stroke,” he added. “We need new therapies to help reduce these risks.” 

Continue Reading

News

Hospitals Overrun by Flu Patients, ERs Face Overcrowding! 

Hospitals Overrun by Flu Patients, ERs Face Overcrowding! 

United States: Local hospitals face rising emergency room patient volume due to the influenza spike, according to the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association (GDAHA), resulting in ER wait times extension alongside hospital workflow changes. 

More about the news 

This results in longer ER waits, and hospital process changes to manage increased volumes. GDAHA unites thirty-nine health facilities, including hospitals across Auglaize, Butler, Darke, Champaign, Clark, Greene, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, Shelby, and Warren counties. 

Statewide flu activity maintains a “very high” classification, according to the Ohio Department of Health. 

The current week’s recorded hospital admission rates for flu-related conditions across Ohio reached 1,965 cases per ODH data, indicating a 42.8 percent expansion from the previous week’s numbers, daytondailynews.com reported. 

Hospitals Overrun by Flu Patients, ERs Face Overcrowding! 
Hospitals Overrun by Flu Patients, ERs Face Overcrowding! 

Symptoms for the disease 

Patients presenting with gentle symptoms must visit urgent care together with outpatient clinics, primary care offices, and doctor’s offices, according to hospital and medical staff opinions. 

The service experience for patients looking for medical care continues to differ depending on the current flu and respiratory illness outbreak conditions, according to GDAHA. 

The healthcare facilities must make specified workflow adjustments during specific operational periods according to Colon’s standpoint. 

Waiting times must extend longer in hospitals as the number of patients grows, so hospitals aim to discourage individuals from visiting these facilities for basic conditions alone or diagnosis purposes only, according to Colon. 

Continue Reading

News

“An Alarming Surge” – Trifecta of Viruses Sparks Urgent Emergency Declaration 

"An Alarming Surge" – Trifecta of Viruses Sparks Urgent Emergency Declaration 

United States: The Declaration of a state emergency in Minnesota results from rising numbers of diseases afflicting commercial farms. 

More about the news 

Minnesota’s Department of Agriculture declared the alert after three animal virus outbreaks spread throughout their farm sector. 

Since 2024, the pulmonary disease known as Avian Metapneumovirus (aMPV) has maintained its spread among bird populations throughout Minnesota. 

The wild bird and domestic bird populations carry multiple viral infections, including Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), together with its viral strain, H5N1 bird flu. 

HPAI represents different strands of lethal bird flu viruses that harm birds, yet H5N1 constitutes the strain that moved from birds to affect humans. 

"An Alarming Surge" – Trifecta of Viruses Sparks Urgent Emergency Declaration 
“An Alarming Surge” – Trifecta of Viruses Sparks Urgent Emergency Declaration 

What more are the experts stating? 

According to Thom Petersen, the state’s agriculture commissioner, the move was an “important step in helping Minnesota farmers affected by these… diseases,” Daily Mail reported. 

State farmers are eligible for interest-free loans because this proclamation allows them to receive such support following animal losses due to infections. 

Emergency declarations in other states 

California also established an emergency status because of the current bird flu epidemic. The spread of bird flu led to forced farmwide bird destruction, which caused egg prices to increase 65 percent from January to currently reach USD 4.95 per dozen. 

A farm laborer in Ohio joined three other Americans who received hospitalization for bird flu this weekend by presenting respiratory symptoms a day before another Wyoming case operated. 

"An Alarming Surge" – Trifecta of Viruses Sparks Urgent Emergency Declaration 
“An Alarming Surge” – Trifecta of Viruses Sparks Urgent Emergency Declaration 

Minnesota recorded 871 cases of aMPV after April 2024, which exceeds the national total of 2,355 aMPV cases from the previous year to August 2024. 

The disease known as bird flu has infected both commercial and wild bird species, and it has been confirmed in nine cattle herds. 

The state has not registered any human bird flu infections yet, yet local officials tracked a Wisconsin human case that was confirmed in December, the Daily Mail reported. 

Across the country, there have been around seventy cases of H5N1 infections detected in humans, most of them in California, where four were hospitalized and one died. 

However, experts also state that the number of infections is still growing widely across the US, most of which are going unnoticeable. 

Continue Reading

Trending