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Keeping blood pressure under control could be crucial for women in preventing uterine fibroids, new research shows. Middle-aged women tracked for up to 17 years in a new study were 37% less likely to develop these painful growths if they treated their high blood pressure with medication. On the other hand, "patients with new-onset hypertension had a 45% increased risk of newly reported fibroids," said a team led by Susannah Mitro. As outlined in the study, uterine fibroids are benign but painful tumors that arise in the uterus and affect up to 80% of women by the age of 50....

For dealing with fibroids in the uterus, a procedure called uterine artery embolization (UAE) is not only effective, but also safer than conventional surgery. Moreover, UAE usually requires a shorter stay in the hospital, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Society of Interventional Radiology in Toronto. UAE blocks the blood supply to the fibroids, causing them to shrink and die. Dr. Sanjoy Kundu told Reuters Health that "90 percent to 95 percent of patients with symptomatic fibroids are probably candidates for UAE." He thinks that there will continue to be a role for certain surgical...

Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, shares at least one thing with millions of other American women: she had fibroids, benign tumors in the uterus that required treatment. Ms. Rice, the nominee for secretary of state, entered the hospital for an overnight stay last week to undergo a procedure - uterine artery embolization - that is rapidly becoming an alternative to major surgery for troublesome fibroids. For most women, fibroids, consisting of muscle and fibrous tissue, are no bother. But for millions of others, fibroids can be so large (in some cases, the size of a melon) or so numerous...