Researchers studied 6,400 patients for a period of six years. They found that the blood pressure range considered normal for healthy individuals may actually be risky for those with a combined diagnosis of diabetes and coronary artery disease.

"Our data suggest that in patients with both diabetes and coronary artery disease, there is a blood pressure threshold below which cardiovascular risk increases," lead researcher Rhonda Cooper-DeHoff said.

Instead of aiming for a systolic blood pressure reading of 120, Cooper-DeHoff says that levels between 130 and 140 appear to be the most healthful for these individuals. She also says that this group of patients showed an increased risk for heart attack, stroke or death when their blood pressure was controlled to lower than 115 systolic, which is the range recommended as normal by the American Heart Association.

High blood pressure, which is a common condition among diabetics, doubles the risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition to lifestyle changes like weight loss and exercise, supplements containing potassium, calcium, fish oil, magnesium and garlic may help high blood pressure.

"Hypertension as a disease is relatively easy to diagnose and it’s inexpensive to treat," the report committee’s chairman, Dr. David Fleming, told Reuters. "Yet despite that, one in six deaths in the U.S. is due to hypertension, and it costs our healthcare system $73 billion each year in expenses. In that context, hypertension is really a neglected disease in this country. There’s a huge gap between what we could do and what we are doing."

Among the ways the report committee suggested to lower the widespread occurrence of hypertension in the U.S. is to reduce the recommended daily intake of salt. Current guidelines suggest adults get no more than 2,300 milligrams, or about a teaspoon, of salt each day. Individuals with hypertension, middle-aged and older adults, and African-Americans, are advised to consume 1,500 milligrams each day.

As many as one out of every three American adults has hypertension.

According to the American Heart Association, high blood pressure increases the risk for heart attack, angina, stroke, kidney failure and peripheral artery disease. In addition to lifestyle changes like weight loss and exercise, supplements containing potassium, calcium, fish oil, magnesium and garlic may help prevent it.

Researchers studied 990 adults with an average age of 83 over a five year period. They found that among patients with executive dysfunction only, the presence of hypertension was associated with a 57.7 percent risk of developing dementia, compared to a 28 percent risk among those without high blood pressure.

Other types of cognitive impairment, such as memory dysfunction, did not progress to full-blown dementia based on the presence of hypertension, however.

The study’s authors note that hypertension is a major risk factor for vascular brain diseases and vascular cognitive impairment.

"The presence of hypertension predicts progression to dementia in a subgroup of about one-third of subjects with cognitive impairment," they conclude. "Control of hypertension in this population could decrease by one-half the projected 50 percent five-year rate of progression to dementia."

According to the American Heart Association, hypertension increases the risk for heart attack, angina, stroke, kidney failure and peripheral artery disease. In addition to lifestyle changes like weight loss and exercise, supplements containing potassium, calcium, fish oil, magnesium and garlic may help prevent it.

Researchers at the University of Copenhagen conducted controlled, randomized studies to compare individuals who played soccer with those who did other forms of exercise and an inactive control group. They found that inactive men with high blood pressure who participated in three months of soccer practice were able to lower their blood pressure as well as improve other cardiovascular risk factors such as maximal oxygen uptake, heart function, elasticity of the vascular system, cholesterol and fat mass.

In addition, they found that playing soccer was more beneficial than strength training, running or advice to make lifestyle changes like improving the diet and increasing exercise.

"Our research shows that soccer is a versatile and intense form of exercise that provides a positive effect on cardiovascular risk factors in a large group of untrained adult men and women," said research leader Peter Krustrup. "Based on the results, soccer can be recommended as part of the treatment for high blood pressure and as broad-spectrum prevention of cardiovascular diseases."

Researchers say they plan to follow up this study with experiments on the effects of soccer on other diseases such as diabetes and cancer.

Researchers followed 146 overweight patients with a range of health problems including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and arthritis for one year. Half of the participants followed a low-carbohydrate diet and the other half followed a low-fat diet and took a prescription weight loss drug.

While both groups had significant weight loss and were able to lower their cholesterol and blood glucose levels, the group that followed the low-carb diet had significantly better improvements in blood pressure.

Researchers say 47 percent of the participants in the low-carbohydrate group had their blood pressure medication decreased or discontinued while only 21 percent of the medication plus low-fat diet group experienced a reduction in medication use.

"It’s important to know you can try a diet instead of medication and get the same weight loss results with fewer costs and potentially fewer side effects," said the study’s lead author Dr. William Yancy, Jr.

Hypertension is a major risk factor for developing heart disease, kidney disease and stroke. In addition to lifestyle changes like weight loss, supplements containing potassium, calcium, fish oil, magnesium and garlic may help prevent it.

Researchers at Brigham Young University conducted the study on 198 adult participants who wore portable blood pressure monitors, mostly concealed by their clothes, for 24 hours. A statistical analysis allowed the researchers to account for other factors known to influence blood pressure such as age, body mass, gender, exercise, employment status and smoking and zero in on the effect of parenthood.

They found that parents scored 4.5 points lower than non-parents in systolic blood pressure and 3 points lower than non-parents in diastolic blood pressure.

The effect was more pronounced among women, with motherhood corresponding to a 12-point difference in systolic blood pressure and a 7-point difference in diastolic blood pressure.

"While caring for children may include daily hassles, deriving a sense of meaning and purpose from life’s stress has been shown to be associated with better health outcomes," said lead researcher Julianne Holt-Lunstad.

High blood pressure is associated with increased risk of heart disease, kidney disease and stroke. In addition to lifestyle changes such as increased exercise and a low-sodium diet, nutritional supplements containing potassium, calcium, fish oil, magnesium and garlic may help prevent hypertension.

The Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study followed women aged 65 and older for several years. They had their blood pressure measured, took several cognitive and memory tests, and underwent magnetic resonance imaging upon entering the trial and throughout their participation in it.

The study found that women who had elevated blood pressure had significantly higher amounts of white matter lesions (WMLs) in their brains. Previous studies have found that these WMLs are a risk factor for dementia.

"It would be prudent for women to keep their blood pressure low, and the earlier in life they start doing so, the better. At present, keeping blood pressure at normal levels is probably the most effective way we know of to prevent dementia from occurring," said study co-author Dr Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller.

According to the American Heart Association, hypertension increases the risk for heart attack, angina, stroke, kidney failure and peripheral artery disease. In addition to lifestyle changes like weight loss and exercise, supplements containing potassium, calcium, fish oil, magnesium and garlic may help prevent it.

According to Reuters, a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that although calcium can boost bone strength in men, it does not aid in lowering levels of cholesterol and other harmful blood fats or help with weight loss.

Researchers randomly assigned 323 healthy study participants over the age of 40 to take 600 milligrams of calcium per day, 1,200 milligrams of calcium per day or a placebo for two years.

They found that the supplements didn’t change the ratio of good to bad cholesterol; body weight; fat or muscle mass; triglyceride levels; or total cholesterol levels. There were "downward trends" in the blood pressures of men who took the supplements, however the researchers say they were not statistically significant.

Researchers noted that although calcium supplementation is recommended for men who do not get enough from dietary sources, they cannot justify its use for lowering blood pressure at this time.

Calcium is widely available in nutritional supplement form and through dietary sources like dairy products, broccoli, spinach, salmon and sardines.

A study on these findings was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers who made this discovery did so by examining mice with a genetic defect that makes them produce plaques in their blood that are larger than normal. This leads to more clotting, which can be detrimental, but it also creates wider arteries and more stable plaques, which can cancel the negative effect of increased clotting.

The mice showed a greater tendency to form blood clots than their genetically normal counterparts, but the larger plaques appeared to be more stable. When they were given anticoagulants, the plaques they produced were smaller but less stable, meaning the drugs reversed the single advantage provided by their genetic condition.

In treating humans, this will mean that doctors must be more judicious when prescribing anticoagulants.

Those seeking natural or herbal blood thinners can turn to fish oil, ginger or Gingko biloba, all of which may help in dealing with blood clots.

In an animal study, researchers in Germany generated mice lacking the gene phosducin and compared them with normal mice. They found that the mice without the gene developed high blood pressure under various conditions of stress.

In human studies done in the U.S. and Canada, scientists say phosducin DNA variants among subjects served as markers and made it possible to identify patients with an increased blood pressure response to stress-related activities.

"These studies provide us with unique insights into the mechanisms of blood pressure stress response and will provide a novel target for the treatment of this distinct form of high blood pressure," said study author Dr Ulrich Broeckel.

According to the Mayo Clinic, increased stress is also linked to other health issues like headaches, sleep problems, heart disease, stomach problems and decreased immunity.

Natural methods of reducing stress include exercise, relaxation and breathing exercises, tai chi, yoga and meditation.