People who are taking an ACE inhibitor or an ARB drug for heart problems should stay at home and not meet up with people, say researchers from Louisiana State University.

Dr Malcolm Kendrick, a UK GP, estimates that people taking one of the drugs are four times more likely to die from the virus.

Calcium-channel blockers are antihypertensives—they keep high blood pressure under control—that also raise the risk of diverticulosis, a bowel problem that causes small bulges or pouches in the intestine. Left untreated, it can lead to diverticulitis, when the pouches become inflamed.

Six or more cups a day increase your risk of heart disease by 22 per cent, researchers reckon. This seems to be the tipping point for coffee drinking, after which your blood pressure will rise. Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is one cause of cardiovascular disease, still the world's major killer.

It's easier to follow than adopting a healthier diet or exercising, say researchers from the Salk Institute.

Different types of structured exercise—from endurance to resistance activities—were as powerful as drugs for lowering blood pressure, and they became even more effective for people who had the highest levels, which was anything above 140 mm Hg systolic blood pressure, the marker for the start of hypertension.

Exercise targets systolic pressure, the first number which records the amount of pressure in the arteries when the heart is beating.

It's an important discovery because antihypertensive prescriptions have increased by 50 per cent in the past decade, and this is likely to escalate further as the threshold for hypertension has recently been lowered to 130 mm Hg systolic.

Fasting for 24 hours intermittently—either every other day or for three days straight—can reverse the condition and eliminate the need for drug treatment.

Diabetics who had been taking insulin and medication for high blood pressure and cholesterol levels were drug-free after 10 months of intermittent fasting, researchers from the University of Toronto have discovered.

Dog owners on average have better cholesterol profiles, lower blood pressure, aren't overweight and are more physically active. And pretty much all of that is down to having to walk the dog several times a day.

The drugs, known as generics because they are out of patent control, make up around 90 percent of all drugs being prescribed—and the contaminated products could be shipped to more than 30 countries, researchers estimate.

If that wasn't enough, sauna bathing also helps improve skin conditions, arthritis, headaches and the flu, say researchers from the University of Eastern Finland.

The researchers brought together all the previously-published research into sauna bathing, which involves brief exposure to very high temperatures, usually in the 80 to 100 degrees C range.

We can accumulate toxins by ingesting or inhaling chemicals from household cleaners, beauty products, air pollution, pesticides, heavy metals and even additives in our food.

Zinc deficiency has already been linked to type 2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease, but it can also cause hypertension, say researchers from the Wright State University in the US.

It's something every obstetrician needs to see and every mother-to-be wants to have: an image of the unborn child that shows in clear detail the baby's tiny hands, fingers and toes. For the doctor, it's much more than a happy photo opportunity; it is a chance to ensure the overall health of the fetus, including the proper functioning of internal organs and tissues.

One of the heart-specific diets, called DASH, had the biggest impact on blood pressure, reducing levels by 8.74/6.05 mmHg compared to the normal diet. This drop would translate into a 14 percent reduction in strokes and a 9 percent fall in heart attacks.

The nuts are a healthy saturated fat that should be part of the daily diet of anyone who is already more likely to suffer from heart disease, such as an obese person.

Children with low levels of vitamin D—the 'sunshine' vitamin—are more likely to suffer from high blood pressure (hypertension) even when they are very young.