New Way To Treat Hypertension Discovered

Researchers discovered a novel approach in treating a high blood pressure or also known as hypertension. They found that removing one carotid body from those people with high blood pressure can cause an abrupt fall in blood pressure. Carotid bodies are the cause of hypertension, according to a research.

The study was printed in the Journal of American College of Cardiology: Basic to Translational Science. It was led by a team of clinical scientists from the University of Bristol.

The carotid body is a small cluster of chemoreceptors and supporting cells that are located near the fork of the carotid artery, which runs along both sides of the throat. It identifies the changes in the composition of arterial blood flowing through it. The carotid bodies snuffle the levels of oxygen in the blood and when this drops they signal the brain to increase breathing and blood pressure.

Julian Paton, a professor at the University of Bristol explained that treating the carotid body is a novel approach and a potential game changer as they believe they are reducing one of the main causes of hypertension in many patients. He further explained that high blood pressure treatment typically tackles the symptoms targeting the end organs such as the kidneys, heart and blood vessels, and not the causes.

Dr. Angus Nightingale, a cardiology consultant at the Bristol Heart Institute, Bristol also said that they have developed some unique tests to examine which patients have overactive carotid bodies. He added that this gives them a way to personalize treatment, which is needed as there are multiple reasons why high blood pressure develops.

The results of the clinical trial showed that the carotid bodies in patients who countered to resection had raised carotid body activity. They breathed more at rest and generated breathing responses when the oxygen level in their blood was reduced, according to News Medical Life Sciences.