Highlights
Drug Approval
In December 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved nebivolol (Bystolic), a new beta blocker drug. Beta blockers are usually used to treat high blood pressure in combination with other types of medicine such as diuretics and ACE inhibitors.
Blood Pressure Screening Guidelines
Current guidelines from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommend that all adults age 18 years and older have their blood pressure measured.
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) in Children
Rates of hypertension and pre-hypertension are increasing among children and adolescents, according to a survey published in 2007 in Circulation. Another 2007 study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, suggests that pediatric high blood pressure is underdiagnosed. Researchers found that a diagnosis of hypertension was missed in about 75% of children with elevated blood pressure readings. Many doctors believe that increasing rates of childhood obesity are contributing to the rise in pediatric hypertension.
Pre-Eclampsia and Heart Disease
Women with heart disease risk factors (such as high blood pressure and unhealthy cholesterol levels) have a greater risk of developing pre-eclampsia, and women who have had pre-eclampsia are at increased risk for later heart disease, indicate several studies in the November 2007 issue of the British Medical Journal. High blood pressure is a component of pre-eclampsia, a potentially dangerous condition that can occur during the last trimester of pregnancy.
