Tag: AHA (American Heart Association)

The American Heart Association recently gathered experts worldwide to debut their latest preliminary studies on high blood pressure at the Hypertension Scientific sessions. One conference session was a debate between three medical professionals on which method was the best for managing hypertension. Each doctor shared the pros and cons of all three methods. The biggest lesson the doctors wanted to educate the crowd on is utilizing all means necessary to handle a severe issue facing most people in America.

“Hypertension is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular death and disability. Each of these positions has merit in the right patient population. Suppose we’re going to make a dent in resistant hypertension in this country. In that case, we must utilize every tool in our toolkit,” said Dr. Jenifer Cluette, assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and medical director of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

The hypertension management debate happened on September 5 at the AHA’s Hypertension Scientific Sessions in Chicago, IL. The hypertension management debate involved Dr. Cluette, Dr Debbie Cohen, professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and Dr. Stephen Juraschek, associate professor at Harvard University. According to AHA, Hypertension is when the force of blood flowing through your blood vessels continues to be too high over time. Being diagnosed with hypertension requires managing your blood pressure to live.

Medical professionals can measure blood pressure based on the systolic and diastolic blood pressure numbers. Systolic blood pressure is the amount of pressure during the heart’s contraction, while diastolic measures the pressure when the heart is relaxed. The systolic will always be higher than the diastolic, so blood pressure results are displayed as a fraction, EX: 115 over 75. The AHA explains that if your systolic blood pressure goes over 130 and your diastolic crosses 80, you may be diagnosed with hypertension.

Medications, lifestyle changes (eating better and exercising), and renal denervation were the three methods discussed during the debate. The last method is a procedure that became FDA-approved in November 2023. Renal denervation involves a catheter inserted in the groin going up to the renal arteries and destroying the nerves connected to the kidneys that signal an increase in high blood pressure. Dr. Cluett argued for medications, Dr. Cohen argued for renal denervation, and Dr Jurascheck argued for lifestyle changes.

Dr Cluette led the debate, explaining why medication was the most applicable method among the three. She highlighted the practicality of medication by presenting that the only barrier people have with them is taking their medication as scheduled. She moved further on the practical point by breaking down the challenges with exercising and healthy eating. The Havard professor shared that 150 min of exercise a week is required to lower blood pressure. That may be hard for those with multiple jobs or caring for loved ones like children and older adults. A healthy diet is not as feasible as one thinks because people who live in food deserts have difficulty getting healthy foods.

Dr. Juraschek had a rebuttal to defend lifestyle changes. He broke down how Lifestyle changes are a necessity for hypertension management because a lack of dieting and exercise will take people farther away from better health.  

“Lifestyle is tough, but there’s no free pass for not adhering to lifestyle. If you don’t make lifestyle changes, things will get worse. Frank Sacks made this nice point in the New England Journal about reversing age-related hypertension with lifestyle changes. Don’t we want to turn the clock back on aging?  I don’t think that meds or renal denomination can do that,” said Dr. Juraschek.

Dr. Jursachek mentioned that lifestyle changes are more patient-centered based on his patient experience. Lowering the amount of high-sodium foods one consumes and increasing the amount of fruits, vegetables, and lean meats can make considerable strides in lowering blood pressure. Dr. Jursachek revealed the hurdles of renal derivation. Since the procedure is so new, renal denervation is not accessible for everyone because the medical centers that perform the operation are few and are located in larger cities. 

Each doctor shared enlightening points during the hypertension management debate. Dr. Cluette, Dr. Jursachek, and Dr. Cohen encourage every method mentioned in the debate based on one’s healthy journey. The more options available for the public for hypertension, the better chance there is to get control of this problem.

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