Researchers have found that the overproduction of aldosterone is a common but less recognized cause of high blood pressure. Primary aldosteronism is a condition where the adrenal glands produce too much of the hormone aldosterone, causing high blood pressure and heart disease. Dr. Ayush Pandey, associated with www.myupchar.com, says that aldosterone is a hormone made by the adrenal gland. The endocrine gland is a small gland above the kidney. This hormone plays an important role in normalizing the deposition of sodium and potassium in the blood. In addition, it also helps in controlling blood pressure. Excess of aldosterone causes unbalanced potassium levels in the body, leading to high blood pressure. The findings of a study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine have identified the hormone aldosterone as a common and unrecognized factor for high blood pressure.
High blood pressure affects more than 1.5 billion (150 million) people worldwide and arguably increases the risk of heart disease and stroke. According to researchers, primary aldosteronism has traditionally been considered an uncommon cause of high blood pressure. However, the findings of this study suggest that it is much more common than previously identified. To arrive at this conclusion, researchers at four medical centers studied patients with normal blood pressure, stage 1 hypertension, stage 2 hypertension, and registrant hypertension. They conducted this study to determine excess aldosterone production and the prevalence of primary aldosteronism. They found that there was a continuum of excess aldosterone production, which reduced the severity of blood pressure. Importantly, most production of this excess aldosterone would not have been currently recognized by clinical approaches. Since common medicines that prevent the harmful effects of aldosterone are already present and readily available. These findings suggest that using these drugs more often to treat high blood pressure may be an effective way to reduce the risk of heart disease.
Dr. Nabi Wali of AIIMS, associated with www.myupchar.com, says that high blood pressure is known as a silent killer. A person’s heart pumps blood through the arteries into the body. A certain pressure is necessary for the blood flowing in the arteries. But for some reason, when this pressure increases, the arteries are under pressure and this is called high BP. Many people usually do not see any symptoms until they have a serious problem such as a heart attack or stroke. Some people may have problems such as headache, bleeding from the nose, difficulty in breathing, dizziness, chest pain or bleeding in urine.
