In this study, we characterized the physiological blood pressure (BP) trajectories from an estimated pre-pregnancy period through pregnancy, labor, and postpartum among low-risk, normotensive women. This retrospective multicenter observational study was conducted at 12 primary obstetric care facilities in Japan and included 14,240 low-risk, normotensive women with term singleton...
Hypertension and organ damage caused by an inappropriate balance between aldosterone and salt are deeply involved in pathologies such as chronic heart failure, chronic kidney disease, and vascular disorders. Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists are effective not only as antihypertensives, but also as organ-protective drugs, blocking direct aldosterone-induced organ damage...
Arterial hypertension leads to urological complications by impairing urinary bladder function. Physical exercise, particularly high-intensity interval training (HIIT), is a non-pharmacological strategy for blood pressure control. HIIT improves oxygen consumption, body composition, and cardiovascular health, but its effects on the urinary bladder remain unclear. This study...
The renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system regulates blood pressure and is influenced by antihypertensive therapy. We examined plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC), plasma renin activity (PRA), and clinical characteristics in untreated hypertensive patients without primary aldosteronism, followed for 3 years. Among 456 newly diagnosed patients, 397 (219 males, 178 females) were...
Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDPs) are major contributors to maternal and neonatal morbidity and are closely linked to metabolic disturbances. Women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) exhibit significant lipid abnormalities, yet whether atherogenic lipid indices predict hypertensive complications in this population remains unclear. This study evaluated the...
Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) often leads to right heart failure and death. While pharmacological therapies offer symptomatic relief and functional improvement, many patients remain refractory or progress despite optimal treatment. This review explores emerging interventional strategies besides pharmacotherapy. Techniques such as pulmonary artery denervation (PADN...
Reducing sodium intake in populations is essential, but insufficient for preventing and managing high blood pressure, while the importance of increasing potassium intake is overlooked. We investigated the effects of 1-year population-approach programs (2021–2022) promoting salt reduction and potassium intake using urinalysis feedback and food environment improvement. This...
The oscillometric method is the predominant technique for non-invasive blood pressure (BP) measurement worldwide, and has enabled widespread adoption of home BP monitoring, which is crucial for hypertension management. However, limitations in the usability of BP monitors, and particularly the pain and discomfort caused by excessive cuff inflation, can discourage consistent daily...
To explore the effect of the indoor environment on blood pressure (BP) at home, individuals moving into newly constructed, well-insulated, and well-ventilated apartment buildings were targeted in this study. The BP of the participants was measured in February for two consecutive years before and after the participants moved. The analysis included 179 and 178 individuals with...
High-quality hypertension management is a new concept proposed to improve blood pressure (BP) control in Asia. Out-of-office BP measurements, including ambulatory and home BP monitoring, and wearable BP measurement, are recommended for BP assessment. Long-acting antihypertensive agents at full dose or in combination are priority strategies for achieving 24-h (24-h) BP control...
Arterial stiffness is a key marker of vascular aging. We compared the prognostic performance of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and estimated PWV (ePWV) for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE). We retrospectively analyzed adults aged 40-75 years who underwent baPWV at a tertiary center (n = 9521). ePWV was computed from age and mean blood pressure. The primary...
Cardiovascular diseases, particularly hypertension, remain a major global health burden, highlighting the need for accurate and accessible blood pressure (BP) monitoring. Cuffless BP measurement (BPM) based on pulse wave propagation methods (PWPM), including pulse arrival time (PAT), pulse transit time (PTT), and pulse wave velocity (PWV), has attracted increasing research...
Hypertension represents a major public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, characterised by substantial underdiagnosis and inadequate management. This secondary analysis of cross-sectional survey data examined the association between physical activity patterns and hypertension prevalence amongst HIV-positive and HIV-negative populations in rural South African communities...
Increased stiffness in the proximal aorta and carotid artery, both crucial for regulating blood pressure and flow pulsatility, may contribute to cerebral microcirculation damage and cognitive decline. While aortic stiffness measured by aortic characteristic impedance (Zc) has been linked to suspected mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the role of carotid stiffness remains unclear...
Cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic (CKM) syndrome, a recently proposed concept focusing on the interrelationship among cardiovascular system, chronic kidney disease, and metabolic risk factors, is associated with high morbidity and mortality. The mechanism of CKM syndrome has not yet been fully examined due to the lack of an animal model. Here, we investigated whether an adenine...
Mineralocorticoid receptor blockers (MRBs) are positioned as second-line antihypertensive agents in the 2025 Japanese Society of Hypertension guidelines, yet evidence in older patients remains limited. This 12-week, multicenter, randomized, open-label, parallel-group, non-inferiority ESCORT-HT study (jRCTs031240300; September 2024–June 2025) compared esaxerenone with angiotensin...
Asymptomatic brain lesions (ABLs), including white matter hyperintensities (WMHs), silent brain infarcts (SBIs), and cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), are common MRI markers of cerebral small-vessel disease and predictors of future stroke. However, the optimal blood pressure (BP) target for primary prevention in individuals with ABLs remains unclear. We analyzed 2363 neurologically...
This document presents the Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of Renal Denervation (RDN) Systems in Japan, jointly endorsed by the Japanese Society of Hypertension (JSH), the Japanese Association of Cardiovascular Intervention and Therapeutics (CVIT), and the Japanese Circulation Society (JCS). Based on the final consensus statement of the Joint Committee on RDN, these guidelines...
Little is known about the associations between changes in the urinary sodium-to-potassium (Na/K) ratio and blood pressure (BP) in healthy individuals. Using survey data, urinary data, and BP data from the KOBE Study, this longitudinal study aimed to assess the associations between changes in the urinary Na/K ratio and BP in a healthy Japanese population over an 8-year follow-up...
Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists are widely used to manage type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, there are reports indicating that patients administered GLP-1 receptor agonists often experience an increased heart rate. Although activation of the sympathetic nervous system may be involved in this response, the detailed mechanisms of action of GLP-1 receptor agonists...