New scan discovers hidden cause of hypertension

Credit: Getty Images/stockvisual

By Olivia Bowthorpe

A novel imaging technique could help millions of people in the UK suffering from hard-to-treat high blood pressure by identifying a hidden cause that current testing fails to detect.

Researchers at University College London have developed a 3D imaging technique that pinpoints overproduction of the hormone aldosterone, which regulates salt levels, in the adrenal glands.

Currently, measuring aldosterone requires blood tests followed by adrenal vein sampling, an invasive procedure requiring a catheter inserted through the groin. This is offered at only a select number of large teaching hospitals, leaving many patients without access to accurate diagnosis.

Around a quarter of the 14 million people with high blood pressure in the UK are thought to have this problem, yet thousands are missing out on diagnosis due to the limitations of current testing.

"This method may have the potential to alter treatment plans for patients across the wide spectrum of aldosterone dysfunction," say the team in the New England Journal of Medicine.