Press Release

March 16, 2006
Contact: Tom Capezzuto
Phone: (973) 972-3000
capezzta@umdnj.edu

UMDNJ Nephrologist Speaks on Hypertension, Diabetes and Kidney Disease
-Newark Church Offers Free Screening on Saturday to Identify
Those at Risk-

NEWARK—If a family history of high blood pressure or diabetes is in your genes, it may be a good time to have a kidney disease screening, says a nephrologist and researcher at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.

Dr. Leonard G. Meggs, professor of medicine and director of the Division of Nephrology and Hypertension at the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, and health care workers from University Hospital in Newark will conduct a free urine screening Saturday, March 18, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, 83 Elizabeth Avenue, Newark.

Dr. Meggs will speak on medical issues that include the risks of high blood pressure and its relationship to kidney failure and kidney disease. The public is invited to attend, free of charge. Test results and consultation will be provided immediately following testing for blood pressure, diabetes and kidney disease.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is an elevation of the arterial blood pressure above the normal range. Typically, 120/80 is a healthy reading. It can stem from hereditary factors, including stenosis, or a narrowing of the arteries. Hypertension may also result from kidney disease, including narrowing of the renal artery, endocrine diseases, or disease of the arteries (secondary hypertension).

Complications that may arise from hypertension include atherosclerosis, heart failure, cerebral hemorrhage and kidney failure; but treatment may prevent their development. Hypertension can also go undetected until complications develop.

To arrange participation in the free screening, call Brenda Alston Hill, program coordinator, at (973) 972-8249. Refreshments will be provided at Saturday's screening.