People with fatty liver disease are more likely to die early if they have one of three additional health problems, a new study says. High blood pressure, diabetes and low levels of “good” HDL cholesterol all increase the risk of death for people with fatty liver disease, researchers reported Sept. 17 in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Importantly, high blood pressure was linked with the highest death risk from fatty liver disease, researchers found. “Until now, it was commonly thought that diabetes was the most pressing health problem for (fatty liver disease) patients, which is a key insight,” lead researcher Dr. Matthew Dukewich, a University of Southern California transplant hepatology fellow, said in a news release. More than a third of the world’s population has fatty liver disease, also known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD, researchers said in background notes. The condition occurs when fat builds up in the liver, eventually causing tissue damage and scarring. It usually is associated with one or more of five other health problems: Obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar and low HDL cholesterol, researchers said. To see which of these health problems are riskiest for fatty liver patients, researchers tracked the health of nearly 22,000 people who took part in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1988 to 1994…  read on >  read on >

Your morning cup of coffee might harm the quality of a blood donation provided later in the day, a new study says. Caffeine appears to impair donated blood in ways that reduce the effectiveness of future transfusions, researchers report in the journal Haemotologica. Specifically, they found that red blood cells are more prone to damage during storage when there are high levels of caffeine in a blood donation. Further, results showed that transfusions of caffeine-laden blood resulted in lower increases in patients’ levels of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells responsible for delivering oxygen and removing carbon dioxide. There also were greater signs of red blood cell breakdown among transfused patients, researchers said. As many as 75% of Americans regularly consume caffeine, raising important questions regarding the quality of U.S. blood supply, researchers said. “We’ve long understood caffeine’s effects on the brain and central nervous system, but this is the first large-scale study to demonstrate its impact on red blood cell biology,” senior researcher Angelo D’Alessandro, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said in a news release. “These findings suggest that something as common as your morning cup of coffee could have important implications for the quality of stored blood and how well it works when transfused into patients,” D’Alessandro said. For the new study, researchers analyzed samples…  read on >  read on >

Your morning cup of coffee might harm the quality of a blood donation provided later in the day, a new study says. Caffeine appears to impair donated blood in ways that reduce the effectiveness of future transfusions, researchers report in the journal Haemotologica. Specifically, they found that red blood cells are more prone to damage during storage when there are high levels of caffeine in a blood donation. Further, results showed that transfusions of caffeine-laden blood resulted in lower increases in patients’ levels of hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells responsible for delivering oxygen and removing carbon dioxide. There also were greater signs of red blood cell breakdown among transfused patients, researchers said. As many as 75% of Americans regularly consume caffeine, raising important questions regarding the quality of U.S. blood supply, researchers said. “We’ve long understood caffeine’s effects on the brain and central nervous system, but this is the first large-scale study to demonstrate its impact on red blood cell biology,” senior researcher Angelo D’Alessandro, a professor of biochemistry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said in a news release. “These findings suggest that something as common as your morning cup of coffee could have important implications for the quality of stored blood and how well it works when transfused into patients,” D’Alessandro said. For the new study, researchers analyzed samples…  read on >  read on >

A common rheumatoid arthritis drug appears to also lower blood pressure, potentially reducing patients’ risk of heart disease, a new study says. Methotrexate significantly lowered blood pressure compared to another arthritis drug called sulfasalazine, researchers reported recently in the Annals of Medicine. “We found that methotrexate lowered systolic blood pressure by an average of 7.4 mm/Hg compared with people taking sulfasalazine,” said lead researcher Arduino Mangoni, a strategic professor of clinical pharmacology with Flinders University in Australia. “This kind of reduction is considered meaningful because even a small drop in blood pressure can lower the risk of serious heart problems like heart attacks and strokes,” he said in a news release. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs in about 1 in 100 people, researchers said in background notes. It’s an autoimmune disorder that occurs when the immune system attacks a person’s joints, causing pain and swelling. For the new study, researchers randomly assigned 62 newly diagnosed RA patients to receive regular injections of either methotrexate or sulfasalazine. After six months, people receiving methotrexate had significantly lower systolic blood pressure. Systolic is the pressure in the blood vessels during a heart beat. It’s the top number in a blood pressure reading. Researchers found that this benefit did not appear linked to either improvements in a person’s arthritis symptoms or the stiffness of their arteries. That means the drug might…  read on >  read on >

A common rheumatoid arthritis drug appears to also lower blood pressure, potentially reducing patients’ risk of heart disease, a new study says. Methotrexate significantly lowered blood pressure compared to another arthritis drug called sulfasalazine, researchers reported recently in the Annals of Medicine. “We found that methotrexate lowered systolic blood pressure by an average of 7.4 mm/Hg compared with people taking sulfasalazine,” said lead researcher Arduino Mangoni, a strategic professor of clinical pharmacology with Flinders University in Australia. “This kind of reduction is considered meaningful because even a small drop in blood pressure can lower the risk of serious heart problems like heart attacks and strokes,” he said in a news release. Rheumatoid arthritis occurs in about 1 in 100 people, researchers said in background notes. It’s an autoimmune disorder that occurs when the immune system attacks a person’s joints, causing pain and swelling. For the new study, researchers randomly assigned 62 newly diagnosed RA patients to receive regular injections of either methotrexate or sulfasalazine. After six months, people receiving methotrexate had significantly lower systolic blood pressure. Systolic is the pressure in the blood vessels during a heart beat. It’s the top number in a blood pressure reading. Researchers found that this benefit did not appear linked to either improvements in a person’s arthritis symptoms or the stiffness of their arteries. That means the drug might…  read on >  read on >

Folks figuring out how to take their blood pressure at home might be tempted to use online stock photos to see how it’s done — but they really shouldn’t, a new study warns. Only about 1 in 7 stock photos found online correctly depict the right way to measure blood pressure, researchers reported in the journal Hypertension. “We expected that about 50% of images would be accurate. However, our findings were worse than expected,” said lead researcher Alta Schutte, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of New South Wales Sydney in Australia. “Because people tend to remember images better than words — a phenomenon known as the picture-superiority effect — inaccurate visuals could have serious public health consequences,” she added in a news release. Home blood pressure readings have become increasingly important, with clinical guidelines now recommending that people regularly self-monitor their pressure and report the data to their doctor, researchers said in background notes. But fewer than 1 in every 5 home blood pressure device owners report that someone has shown them how to properly take their own readings, researchers said. Many likely turn to the internet for guidance. For the new study, researchers analyzed more than 1,100 images found on 11 major online stock photo sites using the term “blood pressure check.” Only 14% of those images depicted people properly checking…  read on >  read on >

Folks figuring out how to take their blood pressure at home might be tempted to use online stock photos to see how it’s done — but they really shouldn’t, a new study warns. Only about 1 in 7 stock photos found online correctly depict the right way to measure blood pressure, researchers reported in the journal Hypertension. “We expected that about 50% of images would be accurate. However, our findings were worse than expected,” said lead researcher Alta Schutte, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of New South Wales Sydney in Australia. “Because people tend to remember images better than words — a phenomenon known as the picture-superiority effect — inaccurate visuals could have serious public health consequences,” she added in a news release. Home blood pressure readings have become increasingly important, with clinical guidelines now recommending that people regularly self-monitor their pressure and report the data to their doctor, researchers said in background notes. But fewer than 1 in every 5 home blood pressure device owners report that someone has shown them how to properly take their own readings, researchers said. Many likely turn to the internet for guidance. For the new study, researchers analyzed more than 1,100 images found on 11 major online stock photo sites using the term “blood pressure check.” Only 14% of those images depicted people properly checking…  read on >  read on >

A novel pill that blocks the hormone aldosterone shows promise for lowering blood pressure and potentially delaying the progression of kidney disease in people with both conditions.  The preliminary findings were presented Saturday at an American Heart Association (AHA) meeting in Baltimore and simultaneously published in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. The Phase 2 clinical trial, known as FigHTN, found that the new medication, baxdrostat, yielded a roughly 5% reduction in systolic blood pressure when given to patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who were unable to control their high blood pressure with existing medications.  Systolic blood pressure is the top number in a blood pressure reading. It measures pressure against your artery walls as the heart beats, according to the AHA. “These findings are encouraging for people living with chronic kidney disease and high blood pressure, two conditions that often go hand-in-hand and create a dangerous cycle,” said study leader Dr. Jamie Dwyer, a professor of medicine at University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City. Unmanaged blood pressure can worsen kidney function, and declining kidney function can, in turn, further elevate blood pressure, creating a challenging loop for patients, he explained. Reported previously in HealthDay News, the new drug also showed benefit in other patients with treatment-resistant high blood pressure when taken once a day for three months. In an…  read on >  read on >