By Mark Messina, PhD, MS High blood pressure (BP) is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) worldwide. Current guidelines classify adults with an average systolic blood pressure (SBP) of 130 to 139 mmHg and/or diastolic blood pressure (DBP) of 80 to 89 mmHg as having stage 1 hypertension (previously, these numbers would have qualified as only prehypertension). Adults with stage 1 hypertension have about a 2-fold increase in CVD risk compared with their counterparts with a normal BP (SBP < 120 mm Hg and DBP < 80 mm Hg). Furthermore, evidence suggests that lowering SPB to below 130 mmHg further reduces CVD risk. Read More

By Julia Driggers, RD, LDN, CNSC The Guidelines for Children with Hypertension were updated by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in 2017. Prior to this publication, the guidelines for hypertension (HTN) were issued by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). In 2013, the AAP acquired sponsorship of cardiovascular disease guidelines in children with a goal of developing evidence-based clinical practice recommendations for the practitioner. A sub-committee of experts established guidelines for the diagnosis, evaluation, and management of childhood HTN. Read More

By Sandra Allonen, RD, MEd, LDN Multiple components of soybeans may have blood-pressure lowering effects. For example, digestion of soy protein may produce small chains of amino acids, the building blocks of protein, that lower blood pressure. And compounds in soybeans called isoflavones, appear to boost the activity of enzymes that increase the production of nitric oxide, a molecule which widens blood vessels and reduces blood pressure. Read More