An Afternoon Nap May Lower Your Blood Pressure

THURSDAY, March 7, 2019 -- Want a daytime pick-me-up that may also benefit your blood pressure? Take a nap, researchers suggest.

"Midday sleep appears to lower blood pressure levels at the same magnitude as other lifestyle changes," said Dr. Manolis Kallistratos, a cardiologist at Asklepieion General Hospital in Voula, Greece.

FDA Says Patients Can Take Tainted Blood Pressure Meds Until Shortages End

FRIDAY, April 5, 2019 -- As Americans face shortages of widely used blood pressure drugs due to contamination with potentially cancer-causing impurities, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said patients can safely take the tainted drugs in the short term.

As the agency explained, the risk of stroke and other problems from stopping the angiotensin II receptor blocker (ARB) medications -- drugs such as losartan and valsartan -- far outweighs than the potential threat of cancer from briefly taking the impure drugs.

AHA News: Could Beetroot Fight Salt-Induced High Blood Pressure?

THURSDAY, March 28, 2019 (American Heart Association News) -- Adding tiny amounts of beetroot or dietary nitrate to salty food products might help prevent high blood pressure, according to a preliminary study of rats.

While findings in animals may not translate to humans, researchers of the new study -- released Thursday in the American Heart Association journal Hypertension -- hope to find a new tool to help battle the epidemic of high-salt diets, a major risk factor for hypertension.

Making Sense of the Recent Blood Pressure Drug Recalls

FRIDAY, March 8, 2019 -- People taking blood pressure medications have faced a frightening and bewildering series of pharmaceutical recalls in recent months, as trace amounts of cancer-causing chemicals have been discovered in individual batches of drugs.

But experts from the nation's leading heart groups are urging patients to remain calm, even as the recall list continues to grow.

Even a Drink a Day Might Raise Your Blood Pressure

THURSDAY, March 7, 2019 -- Prior studies have suggested that a little drinking might help the heart. But rigorous new research suggests the opposite, finding that even a drink or two per day is tied to rising blood pressure.

"I think this will be a turning point for clinical practice, as well as for future research, education and public health policy regarding alcohol consumption," said lead author Dr. Amer Aladin, a cardiology fellow at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Meds for Blood Pressure, Cholesterol Help the Heart -- But Maybe Not the Mind

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 27, 2019 -- While effective at cutting heart risks, blood pressure and cholesterol drugs may not help preserve seniors' brain health, new research finds.

That conclusion came from the tracking of more than 1,600 men and women in 21 countries.