Roundup: Millions More Adults May Benefit from Blood Pressure Medication Under New Guidelines; and More News

New Study Suggests Millions More Americans May Benefit From Blood Pressure Medication

Nearly 23 million U.S. adults with high blood pressure may now qualify for blood pressure-lowering medication under the updated guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) and American College of Cardiology, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

The research found that while healthy lifestyle habits remain the cornerstone of treating high blood pressure, many people at elevated risk for heart disease or stroke may benefit from adding medication to better control their blood pressure.

Why the Guidelines Changed

High blood pressure, also called hypertension, occurs when the force of blood against artery walls stays consistently too high. Over time, uncontrolled hypertension can damage blood vessels and increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, heart failure and kidney disease.

The updated guideline recommends that healthcare professionals consider more than a person's blood pressure reading alone. It also encourages calculating an individual's overall risk of developing cardiovascular disease over the next 10 years using the American Heart Association's PREVENT risk calculator.

This personalized approach helps identify people who may benefit from medication even if their blood pressure is only moderately elevated.

Millions May Be Missing Needed Treatment

Researchers analyzed national health data and estimated that approximately 81 million U.S. adults have high blood pressure but no diagnosed cardiovascular disease.

Among them:

• Nearly 23 million people (28 percent) would qualify for medication under the updated guideline.
• About 13.1 million are already receiving blood pressure medication.
• Nearly 9.7 million people who appear eligible remain untreated.

The study also estimated that expanding treatment to all eligible but untreated adults could potentially prevent approximately 200,000 deaths from any cause and 162,000 cardiovascular-related deaths over the next decade.

These estimates are based on statistical modeling and do not prove that medication alone would directly prevent those deaths.

Lifestyle Changes Still Come First

The updated guideline emphasizes that healthy lifestyle habits remain the first step in controlling blood pressure.

These include:

• Eating a heart-healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
• Limiting sodium (salt).
• Maintaining a healthy weight.
• Exercising regularly.
• Getting adequate sleep.
• Managing stress.
• Limiting alcohol consumption.

For many people with mildly elevated blood pressure and a low risk of developing cardiovascular disease, these lifestyle changes may be enough to lower blood pressure without medication.

However, people with higher cardiovascular risk—including older adults and those with diabetes or chronic kidney disease—may need medication in addition to healthy habits to achieve optimal blood pressure control.

A More Personalized Treatment Plan

Rather than recommending medication based solely on blood pressure numbers, the new guideline encourages clinicians to evaluate a person's overall health profile.

Factors such as age, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, smoking, cholesterol levels and estimated risk of future heart disease all help determine whether medication is appropriate.

Researchers found that the people most likely to benefit from treatment were generally older, with an average age of 66, and often had additional medical conditions that increased their cardiovascular risk.

Important Study Limitations

Although the findings are encouraging, the researchers noted several limitations.

The analysis used blood pressure measurements taken during a single medical visit. Current guidelines recommend confirming high blood pressure with multiple readings taken during multiple office visits before making a diagnosis or starting medication.

In addition, the study was observational, meaning researchers analyzed existing health data rather than randomly assigning people to receive treatment. As a result, other factors may have influenced the outcomes, and the projected reductions in deaths are estimates rather than guarantees.

Physical Activity in Midlife May Help Protect Brain Health, Study Finds

Staying physically active during midlife may do more than improve heart health. New research suggests it could also help protect memory and thinking abilities later in life, with especially strong benefits seen among Hispanic adults.

The study, published in Alzheimer's & Dementia: Behavior & Socioeconomics of Aging, found that regular physical activity and healthy blood sugar levels during middle age were linked to a slower rate of cognitive decline. Cognitive decline refers to the gradual loss of memory, attention, problem-solving and other thinking skills that can occur with aging.

Researchers from UT Health San Antonio followed 402 adults in South Texas, including a population that was 52 percent Hispanic and 48 percent non-Hispanic white. Participants were about 58 years old on average, and nearly six in 10 were women.

Benefits Varied by Ethnicity

Although good cardiovascular health benefited everyone, researchers found differences between the two groups studied.

Among Hispanic participants, any amount of physical activity was associated with a slower decline in cognitive function over time. For non-Hispanic white participants, lower fasting blood sugar levels—blood glucose measured after not eating for at least eight hours—were more strongly linked to preserving cognitive abilities.

The findings suggest that different cardiovascular risk factors may play a larger role in brain health depending on a person's background, although researchers say additional studies involving larger and more diverse populations are needed.

Why Heart Health Matters for the Brain

Scientists have long known that the health of the heart and blood vessels affects the brain. Conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol can reduce blood flow to the brain, increasing the risk of memory problems, dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

The researchers note that nearly 40 percent of Alzheimer's disease cases may be linked to risk factors that people can potentially change through healthier lifestyle habits.

The study evaluated cardiovascular health using the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7, a framework that measures seven factors associated with heart and brain health:

• Physical activity
• Healthy eating
• Not smoking
• Healthy blood pressure
• Healthy body weight
• Healthy cholesterol levels
• Healthy fasting blood sugar

Previous research has shown that people who score higher on these measures generally have better cognitive function and a lower risk of developing dementia.

Addressing Health Disparities

The study also highlights the importance of including more diverse populations in Alzheimer's research. Hispanic adults, particularly Mexican Americans, experience higher rates of diabetes, obesity and unhealthy cholesterol levels—conditions that increase the risk of dementia.

Approximately 14 percent of Hispanic adults age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer's disease, compared with about 10 percent of non-Hispanic white older adults. Yet, Hispanic populations remain underrepresented in many studies of Alzheimer's disease.

While additional research is needed, the findings reinforce a familiar message: staying physically active, maintaining healthy blood sugar levels and managing cardiovascular risk factors during midlife may help preserve brain health and reduce the risk of cognitive decline as people age.

GLP-1 Medications May Be Linked to Hair Loss, New Study Suggests

Medications known as GLP-1 receptor agonists have become widely used to treat type 2 diabetes and obesity because they can improve blood sugar control while promoting significant weight loss. Now, a new study suggests these medications may also be associated with a slightly higher risk of developing certain types of hair loss.

Researchers emphasize that the overall risk remains low, but they say patients and healthcare providers should be aware of the potential side effect when discussing treatment options.

What the Researchers Studied

The investigators analyzed electronic health records from Penn Medicine to compare adults with type 2 diabetes who were newly prescribed GLP-1 receptor agonists with similar patients taking two other commonly used diabetes medication classes: SGLT-2 inhibitors and DPP-4 inhibitors.

The study included more than 12,000 people taking GLP-1 medications and compared them with more than 26,000 patients taking the other diabetes drugs. Participants were followed for up to five years to determine whether they were diagnosed with alopecia, the medical term for hair loss.

What the Study Found

After accounting for differences between the groups, researchers found that people taking GLP-1 medications had a higher likelihood of developing hair loss than those taking either comparison medication.

Specifically, GLP-1 users had a:

• 37 percent higher risk compared with people taking SGLT-2 inhibitors.
• 68 percent higher risk compared with people taking DPP-4 inhibitors.

The researchers also found that the association appeared to be limited to non-scarring alopecia, meaning hair loss that does not permanently damage hair follicles and is often reversible.

Importantly, the researchers noted that the absolute risk remained low, meaning only a relatively small number of patients experienced hair loss overall.

Why Might GLP-1 Drugs Affect Hair?

The study did not prove that GLP-1 medications directly cause hair loss. Instead, it found an association between taking these drugs and developing alopecia.

Researchers say one possible explanation is rapid weight loss and changes in nutritional status that often occur with GLP-1 therapy. Both have previously been linked to telogen effluvium, a common form of temporary hair shedding.

Telogen effluvium occurs when a physical stressor—such as rapid weight loss, illness, surgery or nutritional deficiencies—causes more hairs than usual to enter the resting phase of the hair growth cycle. Several months later, those hairs may shed, often causing noticeable thinning. In many cases, hair regrows once the underlying trigger is addressed.

Understanding the Study's Limitations

Although the study was large and used sophisticated statistical methods to compare similar groups of patients, it was observational. That means researchers reviewed existing medical records rather than randomly assigning patients to different treatments.

Because of this, the study cannot establish that GLP-1 medications caused the hair loss. Other factors that were not fully measured may also have contributed to the findings.

The researchers attempted to reduce these potential sources of bias by comparing patients taking different diabetes medications, balancing health characteristics between groups, and performing multiple sensitivity analyses. Even so, they note that additional research is needed to confirm the findings.