Hypertension

High blood pressure increases a patient's risk of heart attack, stroke and other diseases. Most people with hypertension have no symptoms. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says nearly half of U.S. adults have hypertension, or high blood pressure, and only about 1 in 4 of those individuals has their hypertension under control. The World Health Organization (WHO) expects the epidemic of hypertension world-wide will exceed 1.56 billion people by 2025. Major efforts are underway to better control this primary risk factor through screenings, medication and invasive procedures such as renal denervation in severely uncontrolled patients.

More good news for renal denervation: FDA-approved systems linked to positive long-term data
New data on the RDN systems from Recor Medical and Medtronic confirmed that this relatively new technology brings long-term relief to patients with uncontrolled hypertension.
Nearly 600K bottles of blood pressure drug recalled due to carcinogen risk
The FDA has detailed three voluntary recalls for prazosin hydrochloride, a medication used to treat hypertension, due to safety concerns.
Medicare now covers renal denervation for patients with uncontrolled hypertension
This decision expands access to renal denervation to many more patients throughout the United States. Recor Medical and Medtronic both gained FDA approval for their RDN systems in 2023, and other vendors are actively developing their own treatment options.
'The less you drink, the better': Even minor changes in alcohol use lower hypertension risk
These new findings challenge the long-standing assumption that low levels of alcohol do not meaningfully influence a person's blood pressure.
A call to action for pediatric cardiologists: CVD prevention begins at childhood
Pediatric cardiologists can make a significant impact on global health trends by looking for early warning signs of CVD in their patients and collaborating with other physicians.

Paradise Ultrasound image courtesy of Recor Medical.

More good news for renal denervation: FDA-approved systems linked to positive long-term data

New data on the RDN systems from Recor Medical and Medtronic confirmed that this relatively new technology brings long-term relief to patients with uncontrolled hypertension.

Nearly 600K bottles of blood pressure drug recalled due to carcinogen risk

The FDA has detailed three voluntary recalls for prazosin hydrochloride, a medication used to treat hypertension, due to safety concerns.

Recor Medical's Paradise Ultrasound Renal Denervation System

Medicare now covers renal denervation for patients with uncontrolled hypertension

This decision expands access to renal denervation to many more patients throughout the United States. Recor Medical and Medtronic both gained FDA approval for their RDN systems in 2023, and other vendors are actively developing their own treatment options.

'The less you drink, the better': Even minor changes in alcohol use lower hypertension risk

These new findings challenge the long-standing assumption that low levels of alcohol do not meaningfully influence a person's blood pressure.

A call to action for pediatric cardiologists: CVD prevention begins at childhood

Pediatric cardiologists can make a significant impact on global health trends by looking for early warning signs of CVD in their patients and collaborating with other physicians.

FDA highlights risks of evaluating blood pressure with unauthorized medical devices

The agency emphasized that many over-the-counter technologies marketed for this purpose have not been properly evaluated.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared a smart watch artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that tells wearers if they are suspected of having hypertension, which is expected to help notify about 1 million users over the next year. This a is a new feature of the newly launched Apple Watch Ultra 3, which the company unveiled Sept. 9. Apple gained FDA for its Cardiovascular Machine Learning-Based Notification Software Hypertension Notification Feature (HTNF) Sept. 11, 2025.

FDA clears Apple Watch algorithm for detecting hypertension

The FDA’s decision arrived just days after Apple announced the new feature. "This tool empowers patients and clinicians to work together, putting prevention at the center of care," one cardiologist told Cardiovascular Business.

The new Apple Watch Ultra 3 offers a groundbreaking hypertension notifications alert users if signs of hypertension are detected using data from its optical heart sensor to analyze how a user’s blood vessels respond to heart beats. The algorithm works passively in the background, reviewing data over 30-day periods, and will notify users if it detects consistent signs of hypertension.

New Apple Watch Ultra 3 makes early hypertension detection a priority

"This tool empowers patients and clinicians to work together, putting prevention at the center of care," said Ami B. Bhatt, MD, ACC chief innovation officer. "What we really want to do is create patient agency and reach as many people as we can for earlier detection of high blood pressure."