Black and Hispanic living kidney donors are at increased relative risk for hypertension, diabetes requiring drug therapy, and CKD compared with their white counterparts, according to researchers.

The target BP level of less than 130/80 mm Hg for CKD patients—which is recommended by a Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative guideline—is not definitively supported by scientific data and could potentially lead to adverse effects, according to Julia B. Lewis, MD, of the division of nephrology and hypertension at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Nashville.

NEW YORK—New findings suggest that electronic health records (EHR) with special features for managing hypertension may be highly beneficial in improving BP control.

Doctors may be able to head off ESRD and CVD by treating pre-diabetes and pre-hypertension sooner.

NEW YORK—An investigational triple regimen of olmesartan medoxomil (OM), amlodipine besylate (AML), and hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ) may result in significantly greater mean reductions in BP compared with a combination of any two of these drugs in patients with moderate to severe hypertension, new data show.

MUNICH, GERMANY—Live kidney donors may experience an increase in blood pressure following nephrectomy, new data suggest.

SEATTLE—Guidelines recommend that hemodialysis (HD) patients have predialysis BP levels below 140/90 mm Hg, but study findings suggest that such levels may increase their risk of death, according to David Goodkin, MD, an investigator with Arbor Research Collaborative for Health.

Epoprostenol for Injection, an improved formulation of epoprostenol that is stable at room temperature, is now commercially available, according to the drug's maker, Actelion Pharmaceuticals US, Inc., of South San Francisco, Calif.

The FDA approved the use of Benicar (olmesartan medoxomil) for the treatment of hypertension in individuals aged 6 to 16 years. The drug original was cleared in 2002 for the treatment of adult hypertension.

Short sleep time and poor sleep efficiency may have an etiologic role.