High blood pressure

Sex-specific regulation of kidney signals

Links between estrogen signaling and sodium excretion by the kidney could help explain a reduced risk of hypertension in females versus males.

Meena Madhur, MD, PhD, Matthew Alexander, MD, PhD, and colleagues are studying how a common genetic change impacts the development of inflammation and high blood pressure.

Study sheds light on the development of inflammation, high blood pressure and resulting kidney damage

The study team included, from left, Mohammad Saleem, PhD, Lale Ertuglu, MD, Annet Kirabo, PhD, and Ashley Pitzer, PhD.

Researchers discover how salt increases blood pressure

A Vanderbilt research team has discovered that activation of a certain protein complex involved in the inflammatory response in immune cells contributes to salt-sensitive hypertension.

Genetics and blood pressure

Including polygenic risk scores for blood pressure may improve predictive models to identify people at risk for treatment-resistant hypertension.

Joseph Breeyear, left, Todd Edwards, PhD, and colleagues are studying how high blood pressure genes can improve heart surgery survival in children.

High blood pressure genes improve heart surgery survival in children

Vanderbilt researchers have found that children with a genetic makeup that predicts high blood pressure as adults are more likely to survive congenital heart defect repair surgery.

Study compares kidney injury risk for COVID, flu patients

A Vanderbilt study found that renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAASi) inhibitor drugs, which are commonly used to regulate high blood pressure, do not disproportionately increase the risk of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with COVID-19 compared to patients hospitalized with influenza.