Battling Heart and Stroke

Are you a white-coat hypertensive?

White-coat hypertension is a type of blood pressure (BP) problem that occurs only when BP is measured in a clinical setting, e.g. by health professional in a “white coat”. However, BP measured at home or in another environment stays normal. Unlike “real” hypertension, white-coat hypertension has always been dismissed as harmless and psychosomatic in nature. This led to white-coat hypertensives being ignored as hypochrondriacs who do not need any therapy.

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Is home monitoring by patients with heart disease and/or hypertension a feasible alternative? According to experts and results of recent studies, there’s actually no place like home for monitoring cardiovascular patients.

Hypertension patients

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When it comes to prevention, starting early - and I mean early in life - is important. Childhood blood pressure (BP) tracks throughout life. This means that elevated BP at childhood is most likely to develop into hypertension in adulthood. It is therefore important that children’s BP be managed properly.

As part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children conducted in the UK, 5505 children aged 11 to 12 years old were followed up by monitoring physical activity and measuring BP. Physical activity was measured by an accelerometer or movement detector which the children wore around their waist for 7 days. Two BP measurements were taken during the 7-day period. This study is one of the very few to actually measure physical activity. It actually measured all normal daily activities that required movement in the vertical direction such as walking, jumping, and playing. In contrast, previous studies relied mostly on interviews and self-reports which were not always so accurate.

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We all get spam emails about cheap drugs sold over the Internet. However, these drugs and their distributors not only clutter your inbox, they actually present serious health hazards to those who actually buy and use them.

Here are examples of drugs that can harm your heart and badly affect your blood pressure:

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In the wake of last week’s catastrophic earthquake in China, we can only imagine the trauma that the victims and their families went through - trauma that will probably stay with them for the rest of their lives. With such  trauma comes psychological stress and with increased stress comes elevated cardiovascular risk.

Several research studies have investigated the effect of acute stressors such as catastrophes and natural disasters on the cardiovascular well-being of the victims and people in the vicinity. A review article by Dr. JE Dimsdale of the University of California at San Diego shows that many of these studies observed an increased cardiovascular risk after earthquakes.

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When was the last time you had your blood pressure (BP) checked? Do you know the difference between systole BP and diastole BP and what BP measurements mean for your health? Do you know your risk factors for hypertension and other cardiovascular disorders?

May is the month to start answering these questions. Since 1984, May has been proclaimed as the National Blood Pressure Awareness Month in the United States. The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) also calls it the National High Blood Pressure Education Month.

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May is High Blood Pressure Awareness Month, as initiated by the American Heart Association (AHA). More details soon!

By Cris Oakley

For people with high blood pressure, medication sometimes is not sufficient to lower it to healthy levels. Consequently, they have to find additional ways help lower their blood pressure. Uncontrolled and prolonged high blood pressure can lead to serious complications; including, kidney failure, heart attack, and stroke. That is why you need to do every little bit you can to bring it under control. Here are some natural ways to lower your blood pressure that are easy to incorporate into your daily routine.

1. A Piece Of Dark Chocolate Will Keep The Doctor Away.

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By Stan Kitchen

If you’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure, you are more than likely to have to check your daily blood pressure, which you can do through various methods. Which one suits your lifestyle and preferences is something that you should discuss with your doctor.

Before you even get that far, however, you should know what blood pressure is, how it works in your body, and how to find out what your blood pressure is. Let us start with the basics. Your blood pressure is simply a measurement of the pressure it takes for your heart to force blood out of your heart and into arteries. Arteries carry oxygenated blood throughout your circulatory system, to every cell, tissue, and organ within your body.

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By Aron Wallad

One out of three American adults has high blood pressure or hypertension. High blood pressure is known as the “silent killer” because people with this condition can go years without realizing they have it. The only way to tell is to have it checked by a doctor.

Changing your lifestyle, eating healthier foods and exercising are three action steps to take on, to defeat the silent killer. Try one of those three to help create a high blood pressure remedy that will add years to your life. After getting proficient at one start up another one.

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