Tiny adrenal tumours 'cause high blood pressure'

Treating tiny benign tumours in the
adrenal glands may prevent huge numbers
of cases of high blood pressure, say
researchers.
The team at the University of Cambridge and
Addenbrooke's Hospital think that up to 10%
of cases may be caused by the growths.
Their study, published in Nature Genetics ,
said young patients could be freed from a
lifetime of medication.
The British Heart Foundation said it was an
"exciting development".
High blood pressure can have fatal
consequences as it increases the risk of heart
attacks and stroke.
Most cases are caused by lifestyle choices such
as smoking and diet.
Researchers had already found that large
growths in the adrenal glands, which sit on the
kidneys and produce hormones, could raise
blood pressure. An operation to remove any
tumours can reduce blood pressure.
Now the researchers in Cambridge have found
that much smaller growths, in a different part
of the glands, are producing the same effect.
Hormonal
Both increase the amount of aldosterone made
in an adrenal gland. Release of this hormone
regulates the kidneys to retain more salt in the
body, so increasing blood pressure.
Around 5% of high blood pressure cases are
down to the large growths, but the researchers
argue that the discovery of the small tumours
means far more people have preventable blood
pressure.
Prof Morris Brown told the BBC: "We think it
could be twice that amount. My guess is
around 10%, so it could be as many as one
million people [in the UK]."
Living with high blood pressure for too long
causes changes in the heart and arteries that
mean that operations later in life may not
reverse the condition.
"We can't go looking for the 50 and 60-years-
olds, we've missed the boat. We should go
looking for the 30-year-olds," said Prof
Brown.
Prof Jeremy Pearson, of the British Heart
Foundation, said: "It is an exciting
development, as this group of patients can be
completely cured of high blood pressure once
they have been identified, so the quicker they
are diagnosed the better."
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