High blood pressure in adulthood may extend all the way back to before birth, according to new research in sheep. Scientists found not getting enough oxygen to tissues during pregnancy led to offspring with high blood pressure as adults. However, giving a high-dose of vitamin C to pregnant ewes seemed to counteract that. The researchers say the results point to the need for proactive prevention strategies rather than reactive treatments.
“Treatment should start as early as possible during the developmental trajectory, rather than waiting until adulthood when the disease process has become irreversible,” said Dino Giussani, a physiologist at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, who led the new research.
Infants unable to get enough oxygen to their tissues when in the womb end up small for their gestational age. And 10 percent of babies suffer this kind of growth restriction during pregnancy, which can have a lasting ...
