The American Society of Hypertension's 29th Annual Scientific Meeting and Exposition
The annual meeting of the American Society of Hypertension was held from May 16 to 20 in New York City and attracted more than 17,000 participants from around the world, including clinicians, academicians, allied health professionals, and others interested in high blood pressure management. The conference highlighted recent advances in the prevention, detection, and treatment of hypertension and related cardiovascular conditions, as well as in the pathobiology of hypertension.
In one study, Clarence E. Grim, M.D., of High Blood Pressure Consulting in Stateline, Nev., found that three different devices provided significantly different blood pressure readings on average over three months when taking blood pressure on a single person. An arm and a wrist device made by the same company gave markedly different readings. None of the three devices was accurate for both systolic and diastolic blood pressure (within 5 mm Hg).
"Before you use an automatic blood pressure device on your patient, you need to be certain it works accurately on them. This can only be done by using a standardized protocol with each patient. If a patient gets a new device, you need to validate it on them. You also need to validate it every year for accuracy," said Grim.
Abstract
In a retrospective analysis of the Dallas Heart Study, Florian Rader, M.D., of Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, and colleagues found that masked hypertension (controlled blood pressure in the office but uncontrolled blood pressure at home) was twice as common in black Americans as white Americans. In addition, the investigators found that masked hypertension is common in all individuals already treated with medication irrespective of race/ethnicity. Furthermore, masked hypertension increased the risk for left ventricular hypertrophy, a potent risk factor for future cardiovascular events.
"Home blood pressure measurement can identify individuals with masked hypertension, or masked uncontrolled hypertension, which otherwise would not be recognizable if physicians rely solely on office blood pressure measurements," said Radar. "We recommend home blood pressure measurement, especially in blacks in whom masked hypertension is more common and associated with hypertensive heart disease."
Abstract
Brent M. Egan, M.D., of the Greenville Health System in South Carolina, and colleagues found that hypertension control improved among patients with private or public insurance but remained the same among those without insurance coverage.
"If uninsured [patients] attained control rates similar to publically-insured patients in 2005 to 2010, hypertension control among adults 18 to 64 years would rise from 48.5 to 53.2 percent," the authors write. "Providing private or public health insurance to uninsured adults 18 to 64 years old could advance Healthy People 2020 hypertension control goals."
Abstract
ASH: Individuals With Hypertension Prefer Saltier Foods
MONDAY, May 19, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Individuals with hypertension tend to prefer more salty food, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hypertension, held from May 16 to 20 in New York City.
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ASH: Accurate HTN Information Available on YouTube
FRIDAY, May 16, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Many of the hypertension-related videos available on YouTube are useful, but these tend to be viewed and "liked" less, and home blood pressure (BP) devices for the iPhone seem not to be reliable. These findings are from studies presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hypertension, held from May 16 to 20 in New York City.
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