Folks fighting high blood pressure might receive some help from a household air purifier, a new study says. Even in areas with relatively low air pollution levels, using a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) purifier at home might significantly lower a person’s blood pressure, researchers reported recently in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. “High blood pressure remains one of the most important modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease,” lead author Douglas Brugge, chair of public health sciences at University of Connecticut Health, said in a news release. “This research adds to growing evidence that simple interventions, like in-home air filtration, may help improve heart health for people at risk,” he added. For the study, researchers randomly assigned 154 adults living near highways to use either a HEPA air purifier or a sham device in which the filter had been removed. The participants switched devices after a month and an equal amount of time in between, to give all time with either real or fake air purifiers. Their blood pressure was taken at four times to see how it changed during the study. After a month using real air purifiers, people experienced a significant 2.8-point drop in their systolic blood pressure, or the pressure in their blood vessels during a heartbeat. By comparison, people experienced a slight 0.2-point increase in systolic blood pressure after…  read on >  read on >

Folks fighting high blood pressure might receive some help from a household air purifier, a new study says. Even in areas with relatively low air pollution levels, using a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) purifier at home might significantly lower a person’s blood pressure, researchers reported recently in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. “High blood pressure remains one of the most important modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease,” lead author Douglas Brugge, chair of public health sciences at University of Connecticut Health, said in a news release. “This research adds to growing evidence that simple interventions, like in-home air filtration, may help improve heart health for people at risk,” he added. For the study, researchers randomly assigned 154 adults living near highways to use either a HEPA air purifier or a sham device in which the filter had been removed. The participants switched devices after a month and an equal amount of time in between, to give all time with either real or fake air purifiers. Their blood pressure was taken at four times to see how it changed during the study. After a month using real air purifiers, people experienced a significant 2.8-point drop in their systolic blood pressure, or the pressure in their blood vessels during a heartbeat. By comparison, people experienced a slight 0.2-point increase in systolic blood pressure after…  read on >  read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s top vaccine regulator is returning to his post less than two weeks after the White House had him ousted. Dr. Vinay Prasad will again head the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which oversees vaccines and complex treatments for serious diseases, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed. HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said Prasad is resuming his role “at the FDA’s request,” according to The Washington Post.  “Neither the White House nor HHS will allow the fake news media to distract from the critical work the FDA is carrying out under the Trump administration,” Nixon added in a statement. Prasad, a hematologist-oncologist, joined the Trump administration as a senior health official after publicly criticizing the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.  On July 29, he was removed from his role after some conservative figures such as far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer criticized his approach to drug approvals and his past political views. However, a White House review found the complaints to be disingenuous, according to two people familiar with the situation. White House spokesperson Kush Desai said it was “not only appropriate, but critical for the Administration to recruit the most qualified and experienced staffers who are totally aligned with President Trump’s agenda to ‘Make America Great Again’.” The reversal followed FDA…  read on >  read on >

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s top vaccine regulator is returning to his post less than two weeks after the White House had him ousted. Dr. Vinay Prasad will again head the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, which oversees vaccines and complex treatments for serious diseases, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) confirmed. HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said Prasad is resuming his role “at the FDA’s request,” according to The Washington Post. “Neither the White House nor HHS will allow the fake news media to distract from the critical work the FDA is carrying out under the Trump administration,” Nixon added in a statement. Prasad, a hematologist-oncologist, joined the Trump administration as a senior health official after publicly criticizing the government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. On July 29, he was removed from his role after some conservative figures such as far-right activist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer criticized his approach to drug approvals and his past political views. However, a White House review found the complaints to be disingenuous, according to two people familiar with the situation. White House spokesperson Kush Desai said it was “not only appropriate, but critical for the Administration to recruit the most qualified and experienced staffers who are totally aligned with President Trump’s agenda to ‘Make America Great Again’.” The reversal followed FDA…  read on >  read on >

There’s a simple way older women can protect their heart health, a new study argues. Just stand up. Women who started standing up from a seated position more often during their day experienced notable improvement in blood pressure after three months, researchers reported recently in the journal Circulation. Taking these short-standing breaks appeared to boost heart health even though the women didn’t increase their overall levels of intense exercise, researchers said. “Our findings suggest that while sitting less was helpful, interrupting sitting with brief standing breaks — even if you don’t sit less — can support healthy blood pressure and improve health,” lead researcher Sheri Hartman, a professor of public health and human longevity science at the University of California-San Diego, said in a news release. For the study, researchers recruited more than 400 postmenopausal women who were overweight or obese, and randomly assigned them to one of three groups. The women had an average age of nearly 68. One group was asked to reduce their sitting time, another to increase the number of times they rose from a sitting position, and a third to act as they normally do. All three groups were provided coaching sessions on healthy aging. The women complied with the directives. Those in the “sit less” group wound up cutting their sitting time by 58 minutes a day, and the…  read on >  read on >

There’s a simple way older women can protect their heart health, a new study argues. Just stand up. Women who started standing up from a seated position more often during their day experienced notable improvement in blood pressure after three months, researchers reported recently in the journal Circulation. Taking these short-standing breaks appeared to boost heart health even though the women didn’t increase their overall levels of intense exercise, researchers said. “Our findings suggest that while sitting less was helpful, interrupting sitting with brief standing breaks — even if you don’t sit less — can support healthy blood pressure and improve health,” lead researcher Sheri Hartman, a professor of public health and human longevity science at the University of California-San Diego, said in a news release. For the study, researchers recruited more than 400 postmenopausal women who were overweight or obese, and randomly assigned them to one of three groups. The women had an average age of nearly 68. One group was asked to reduce their sitting time, another to increase the number of times they rose from a sitting position, and a third to act as they normally do. All three groups were provided coaching sessions on healthy aging. The women complied with the directives. Those in the “sit less” group wound up cutting their sitting time by 58 minutes a day, and the…  read on >  read on >