The Good and Bad Levels of High Blood Pressure

If you have cause to become worried about your blood pressure, you ought to begin monitoring it yourself at home. High blood pressure or hypertension is known as 'The Silent Killer' because you cannot know whether you have it unless you measure it. You cannot guess or just feel it. First of all, you should talk to your doctor and he will give you some numbers, then you can buy a blood pressure monitor and keep an eye on your condition.

When you are given your blood pressure reading by either your medical doctor or your machine, you will be given two figures, say 120/80.

The first number is your systolic pressure. The systolic pressure is while your heart 'beats' or contracts, pumping your blood through you body.

The second number is when your heart expands, sucking blood back into itself. This is the diastolic pressure. These readings are of the blood pressure in your arteries.

There are four categories that your arterial pressure numbers can fall into. The first is normal and it is generally accepted that that means readings below 120/80. These figures relate to a healthy person and can be achieved by almost anyone by keeping a healthy active lifestyle.

The second stage is called 'Prehypertension' and relates to arterial pressures between 'normal' and 140/90. This is the warning stage that you ought to be doing something to decrease your blood pressure. This could mean: a modification of diet; drinking less alcohol, tea or coffee; losing weight; taking more exercise; smoking less or giving up smoking altogether.

The third stage is known as 'Hypertension Stage One' and is reflected by figures between prehypertension and 160/100. If you get into this stage then you actually have to see your doctor and he will advocate significant changes to your lifestyle along the lines stated above or / and he will put you on tablets.

The fourth stage is called 'Hypertension Stage Two' and is anything above 160/100. This is quite dangerous and your medical doctor will want to get you to make radical alterations to your lifestyle and / or take medication which could be for the remainder of your life. If you reach this stage go to your medical doctor's as soon as possible.

While you are talking about your arterial pressure with your GP, be sure you tell him about any other medicine you are taking, because some medication will raise arterial pressures too. Examples of medication that can raise your arterial pressure are: anti-depressants, oral contraceptives and anti-flu or anti-cough medications.

There are other things that can affect your pressure figures as well. lack of sleep is one. Do you have a new-born baby, a sick child, money concerns, sleep apnoea or a snoring spouse that prevent you from sleeping properly?

Fear, anger and anxiety are also reasons for hypertension. So is constipation, drinking too much and smoking. So, before you let your medical doctor prescribe tablets to reduce your blood pressure, make certain he is aware of all your circumstances.

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The Pros and Cons of Sphygmomanometer With Mercury Manometer Over Digital Ones

Recently, some studies revealed that many of American teenagers are at risk of ischemic stroke. This is one type of stroke wherein an area of the brain tissue becomes dead due to inadequate supply of oxygen and blood in the brain. This happens when the artery that is responsible for transporting blood and oxygen to the brain is blocked by plaques or fatty deposits, usually cholesterol. The risk for ischemic stroke, just like any other serious and death-causing diseases, can be prevented if the person will only be cautious with his or her lifestyle. Additionally, monitoring the blood pressure level regularly helps a lot to prevent the occurrence hypertension, which is a prevalent symptom of almost all types of stroke.

There are many medical instruments that can be used to determine the status of a person's blood pressure. One of them is the sphygmomanometer. This is among the most basic medical instruments being used for measuring BP level. Also known as pressure meter, this equipment is often available in two types - the manometric and the digital. The digital sphygmomanometer is among the latest technology being used in determining the blood pressure level. It consists of a conventional arm cuff and a compact high sensitivity pneumatic pressure sensor that rapidly detects and converts the patient's BP and then encodes the result to digital signals. The blood pressure reading that the BP apparatus obtains from the patient is displayed on a biometric monitor or the small screen provided along with the cuff. The digital sphygmomanometer is a portable device and very easy to operate. Many of today's medical equipment sales stores are now offering this kind of BP apparatus online.

The aneroid type of sphygmomanometer on the other hand is the old-fashioned blood pressure measuring device and until now, it is still widely available in the market. This type of BP instrument features two important BP devices and these are inflatable cuff intended to resist blood flow and a mercury or mechanical manometer used to gauge the pressure. But aside from these two important components of aneroid sphygmomanometer, there are also other equipments needed in order to make blood pressure device function. These include the inflation bulb and valve that are connected to the inflation cuff via a rubber tube and the stethoscope, which is very essential for manual sphygmomanometer.

The sphygmomanometer that comes with a mercury manometer is not as handy as the digital ones. But more medical practitioners still choose to use the pressure measuring device designed with mercury manometer over the digital ones because it cannot be recalibrated thus, the BP readings are consistently accurate.

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Hypertension Diet

If you were to look up a diet for Hypertension , you would probably come across the dash diet online,the DASH diet is a great diet I have lost 20 pounds ,and I feel better and stronger and healthier,because of it ,I feel I can cope with living with hypertension,I will provide the link to the free primer I found online
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf
hope this helps you in your fight with hypertension!!!

There is also tons of stuff on amazon.

Why Do We Get High Blood Pressure?

It seems that everyone over the age of about forty is having issues with their blood pressure. There is such a thing as having low blood pressure but the problem sweeping Western society for the last twenty-five to thirty years is high blood pressure, which is also called hypertension in medical terminology.

Hypertension is a dangerous medical condition which can kill if not treated, but it is often an indication of leading a poor lifestyle, so a sufferer can usually avoid hypertension by making a couple of lifestyle alterations. The time to instigate these alterations is as soon as you can, because the alterations are sensible ones, however young bodies can take more abuse than older ones, so it is a good idea to keep an eye on your blood pressure from your mid thirties.

Age and ethnicity are factors in hypertension but there is obviously nothing you can do about that, yet the other factors are beneficial for everybody, because they merely involve living a better lifestyle.

Being overweight is a major factor in producing hypertension. The answer is evident - if you are overweight, lose those surplus pounds. Losing merely ten pounds can reduce your blood pressure significantly.

Being inactive is another key factor in developing hypertension and is obviously linked with being overweight. Therefore, you can kill two birds with one stone by exercising more in order to lose weight. Eating excessive amounts of sodium (table salt) is another factor in high blood pressure, so this offers another chance to 'double up'.

While you are attempting to lose weight in order to help reduce your hypertension, incorporate reduced-sodium recipes into your cooking routine. There are lots of low-sodium or low-salt recipes on the Internet and once you have been eating low-sodium for a week or ten days you will wonder why you ever used salt in the first instance.

Salt is of course in some foods more than others, so you will have to get some assistance in the beginning, but only not adding any salt or sugar to any of your food or drink is a decent beginning. Eating more fresh fruit and vegetables is another obvious thing to do. Try not to use canned foods as salt is frequently used to 'pump up the flavour' and preserve cheap ingredients in cans.

Smoking is not good for you. We all know that, however it also increases blood pressure and so does drinking too much alcohol on a frequent basis. These are difficult lifestyle alterations to master, but you could at least cut down.

Stress, fear, anger, worry and sleeplessness are also factors that raise hypertension and it is easy to see that they could all be interconnected. It is frequently said that exercise reduces stress and so that may now have a triple benefit. If you suffer from stress, meditation or yoga may help you as well.

In short, it is possible to do something about your hypertension. Some of the changes are not simple, yet merely doing something on all these fronts will have an effect and perhaps keep you off medication for the remainder of your life.

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A Health Wake-Up Call

Joining a gym is more than just a lifestyle choice: it could be the health wake-up call you need.

When I joined the gym my aim was to build up my stamina, lose some weight and give some sort of routine to my days. I work from home on a freelance basis, so it's very easy to lose track of time. It turned out joining the gym was a wake-up call for me, health-wise.

While I was signing up as a member, my blood pressure was taken a few times and I was told that perhaps I should go to see a doctor - the reading was rather high. My blood pressure readings have usually been low for the past 15 years at least, so this was a shock to me. I had only moved to Melbourne the year before and had not had a reason to see a doctor so, as a result, hadn't checked my BP for over a year.

Soon after, I found a doctor who monitored my blood pressure for a few days before deciding to put me on medication. She couldn't find any obvious reason for it being high, having done the essential blood tests. When I told her that I had just joined a gym, she encouraged me to use it as often as possible and to get fitter and healthier, but not to overdo it, because of my high blood pressure.

As a result I've made some changes to my diet and eat a lot more healthily, paying attention to my salt intake especially. If I can't make it to the gym, I try to squeeze in some other form of exercise, such as yoga or a walk along the beach. The fact that I hadn't displayed any symptoms of having high blood pressure scared me a little and I try not to think of what would have happened if I hadn't joined the gym and got a diagnosis.

I have to admit that I don't go to the gym as often as I should, as I do travel quite frequently and sometimes get too bogged down with work, but I'm glad I took that first step towards a healthier lifestyle.

The exercise that I enjoy the most is the stationery bicycle. I always do a full workout on it and it has become a lot easier and less tiring for me the more I use it.

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How To Improve Circulation - 5 Main Factors To Know For Increasing Poor Blood Circulation

Do you have poor blood circulation? There are many factors that affect the circulation and there are a lot of ways that can help to improve circulation. However, these 5 factors should be a starting point because a lot of people fail to increase poor blood circulation at this point.

As you age, you need to pay more attention to your health, especially on how to improve circulation or prevent the poor blood circulation happens. Blood carries nutrients required by all the organs in the body to function optimally. Many of the health concerns directly or indirectly depend on this circulatory system. Let us examine the 5 main reasons that contribute to this concern.

1. One of the most important factors is your nutrition. It is often seen that with progress and success in life, your food habits begin to suffer. Junk foods and processed readymade eatables replace nutritious foods that supply all the ingredients required by your body to keep all its systems in good shape.

2. Another reason is inadequate intake of water. 8 glasses of water must be consumed daily to keep the system hydrated. Water is a very important medium for transportation of nutrients in the blood. Increasing water consumption can improve circulation.

3. Sedentary lifestyle reduces flexibility of your organs to function at their best. Activity is known to boost their performance which will result in adequate repairs and replacement throughout the body. This also boosts circulatory systems; blood circulation is no exception. Your daily work schedules should include good amount of physical activity. At least, go to the gym regularly for workouts or swim if your job demands more of inactivity.

4. Habits like smoking and excessive alcohol intake interfere with functioning of various organs in the body, especially the lungs and the liver which indirectly affects circulation. Carbon monoxide from smoking damages cells which make up the inner lining of blood vessels. Similarly, reduce intake of tea, coffee, soda and processed drinks.

5. Last, but not the least, keep a constant watch on your body weight. Obesity puts extra pressure on your heart as it has to work harder to pump blood to the body mass. They also have hardened arteries thus impairing circulation.

Everyone should be conscious of above factors and should make it a habit in such a way that we subconsciously keep on working to improve circulation. Even if you are under certain bad blood circulation medication or treatment, making major changes on those factors is needed to make the medication or treatment become more effective.

One way that you can do it faster, but in natural way is by supplementing yourself with enzymes formula. The enzymes formula has been known and proven to help people who want to increase blood circulation faster. Generally, you can pick any brand that is suitable with your condition. But, allow me to introduce to one of the top brands of systemic enzymes, which is called Vitalzym.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=D_Suharsono

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Holistic Treatment for High Blood Pressure - Proven Remedies for Hypertension

Most people treat it as a mere symptom or a condition, but unknown to them, a mere symptom or condition can pave the way for serious conditions, ranging from heart ailments to kidney failures. At times, it can even lead to a heart attack, and the person still would not know what caused it.

A trip to the doctor, such as undergoing a routine general check-up annually may help prevent this situation. However, what if the doctor tells us we are hypertensive? Normally, medications are prescribed, which can be quite costly since we will be taking this for a certain period. Thus, we might consider pursuing a holistic treatment for high blood pressure, meaning, we should consider the body in its entirety in tending to this illness.

Though it cannot totally cure a person of his hypertension, pursuing this kind of treatment will help control high systolic pressure, and at the same time reduce the probability of taking medications for a very long period of time. Again, this holistic treatment for high blood pressure only serves to supplement, meaning, the doctor's order is still very important.

Obesity is one of the factors which lead to hypertension. This would mean pursuing an exercise regimen or performing daily workouts, coupled with a balanced diet to tone down that body weight. It is also recommended that the diet be concentrated more on vegetables and foods rich in fiber, as statistics show that only a handful of vegetarians suffer high blood pressure. Naturally, people should likewise start toning down on eating fatty foods or even cut their alcohol-drinking and smoking habits. Even with a good diet and daily exercise regimen, if we do not do our part in cutting down the factors which contribute to hypertension, then the efforts would be put to naught.

We can also consider practicing meditation or yoga, or even just get a health massage in order tone down and relax those muscles so our body would feel at rest and we can get a good night's sleep. Others even resort to acupuncture to relieve those tense muscles. In this manner, stress, which is one of the factors which contribute to high blood pressure, is greatly reduced to a significant degree. In the end, a healthy lifestyle is what can prevent us from experiencing hypertension symptoms.

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Reduce High Blood Pressure Risk With These Berries

Delicious news! A new study finds that eating a cup of strawberries or blueberries a week can reduce high blood pressure risk, which is a key factor for both heart disease.

The work, intent on investigating the role regular intake of dietary flavonoids might have on the risk of high blood pressure, included over 130,000 women and 23,000 men.

The subjects supplied information about their diet by food frequency questionnaires. Besides tasting naturally sweet and delicious, berries like strawberries and blueberries are low in fat, carbs and calories, but have loads of fiber, vitamins, minerals and those powerhouse antioxidants we've all heard so much about. Anthocyanins are only one such nutrient, but there are others.

Over the 14-year period the participants were followed, the team found that 29,000 women and 5,600 men developed hypertension. But those with the highest levels of anthocyanins (a key part of both blueberries and strawberries) had an 8% lower risk for hypertension compared to those who comsumed the least amounts of these nutrient rich fruits.

Anthocyanin is a rather impressive antioxidant that gives these two delicious berries their incredible color. But it might also open blood vessels, helping blood flow more smoothly and lowers the chance for high blood pressure.

The finding even held after experts controlled for other things we know are high blood pressure risk factors. Family history, weight, how active a patient might be, and other dietary factors all play a part.

The risk reduction was most obvious in those who were under 60 years old. Why?

The research team speculates that the damage done over the years is too much for flavonoids to make much difference to blood vessel function in older people. The team points out that this suggests how important it is to eat well before middle age, so you give your body a chance to get the good for you benefits, while they still are beneficial.

Estimates from the American Heart Association have one in three adults in the U.S. being affected by high blood pressure. Another 2 million teens and children are also affected. The causes of 90-95% of high blood pressures aren't known... even though a doctor can measure your blood pressure quickly and easily in the office. Seems strange that such a potentially dangerous thing could be uncovered with such a simple, pain free test.

Research purists will point out that this new work did have some limitations. No one measured food consumed or took blood pressure levels; these measures were self reported by the study participants. This doesn't allow for the type of control that researchers like to have in experiments. The next steps will be to test doses of anthocyanins rich foods to judge the prevention of high blood pressure... to set guidelines.

In the meantime, if you're at risk and want to reduce high blood pressure risk, do something to help yourself. Prevention is the best treatment, and this comes from a healthy lifestyle... eating a nutritious diet (lots of berries/veggies, no processed foods) and not smoking. Keep those cholesterol numbers under control and do all you can to keep them that way.

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Lower Blood Pressure With Resistance Training

A study was published October 2010 in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research evaluated the impact of resistance training compared to aerobic training on arterial blood flow.

It's been speculated that changes in arterial distensibility (the elasticity of your blood vessels) may be related to exercise-induced difference in vasodilatory capacity, which the ability of blood vessels to dilate.

The Study

The purpose of this recent study was to investigate the vasodilatory and arterial distensibility (AD) responses to acute aerobic exercise and resistance exercise.

The study focused on 10 healthy men with an average age of 25 years-old. Forearm blood flow during reactive hyperemia was assessed before and after 60 minutes of exercise.

Aortic and femoral pulse wave velocity was also measured to assess arterial stiffness pre-workout, 40 minutes post, and 60 minutes post an acute phase of aerobic exercise (30 minute cycling) and resistance exercise (3 sets of 10 reps for upper and lower body).

The Results

Researchers found arterial stiffness to decrease with aerobic exercise, but blood flow to limbs did not increase. With resistance training blood flow to limbs was increased, but there was also a slight increase in arterial stiffness. Resistance training did result in a longer blood pressure drop following exercise when compared with aerobic exercise.

Researchers concluded that changes in arterial distensibility are not associated with changes in vasodilatory capacity after acute exercise. When comparing resistance exercise to aerobic exercise, resistance exercise has a greater impact on blood flow and reduced blood pressure post exercise.

The Take Away

When working to achieve heart health, reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease, and lower blood pressure it's essential to use a combination of aerobic and resistance exercises to achieve optimal health results. Both forms of exercise have distinct benefits that impact the heart and vascular system.

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High Blood Pressure: Hypertension - The Silent Killer

High blood pressure (HBP) or hypertension is known as the silent killer because most people who have these conditions don't even know they have it. Most people have no clue. Hypertension usually develops first and if not corrected usually leads to a chronic condition known as high blood pressure.

These conditions are normally diagnosed by your doctor or self testing at home. A couple of numbers you'll hear your doctor or nurse mention when testing you is systolic and diastolic pressures. In other words the first number the nurse reads out to you is the systolic and the second number is the diastolic. 110 over 70 he or she might say. The first number (systolic) is the blood pressure during the heart beat. The second number (diastolic) is the blood pressure between the heart beats.

The American Heart Association states that the ideal pressure is below 120 over 80. Your pressure will fluctuate throughout the day depending on your activity level. Ideally you'll want to take your pressure reading first thing in the morning after a good nights rest and before you eat or drink anything.

Sometimes there is no identifiable cause for these conditions. This is known as essential hypertension or high blood pressure. The American Heart Association defines HBP as a reading consistently elevated at 140 and or above for the systolic reading and 90 or above for the diastolic reading. A reading of 140 over 90 would put you in the category of having HBP.

Many factors will affect your pressure such as the amount of water in your body, salt, hormone levels as well as the condition of your blood vessels, kidneys and your nervous system. Usually the condition has no symptoms at all and that's exactly why it's been called the silent killer. You may experience a headache now and then with elevated blood pressure. It's very important to check your blood pressure often to catch a high blood pressure condition.

If you experience any of these symptoms get seen by a doctor right away to find out what's going on.
tired all the time after getting enough sleepAnxietyPale or red skinpain in your chest or a heavy crushing feeling

Usually no symptoms present themselves so get yourself checked regularly.

Treatment normally consists of lifestyle changes such as weight loss if you're overweight, eating a diet rich in fish, chicken, fruits and veggies along with regular exercise. Simply walking is a great exercise for the heart. Many times this will be enough but if it's not then you'll have to take a medication or two to keep this very serious condition in check. There are over 200 medicines available to treat this condition. If you don't have insurance or a prescription benefit then buying medicine on a regular basis can present some problems.

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How Accurate Are Blood Pressure Monitors?

If you have a particular medical condition or if you have reached a certain age, you may be thinking about monitoring your blood pressure at home yourself. Yes, you can always go to the GP to have it done, but that costs time (and in some countries, money) which you may not have. So, what about checking your blood pressure at home?

How accurate are blood pressure monitors for home use? The fact is that modern monitors are very accurate, yet you should still continue normal visits to your doctor, who will validate the findings of your home monitor.

If your physician has said that you have high blood pressure (hypertension), he or she will almost certainly recommend lifestyle changes or / and medication. It is very difficult to institute lifestyle changes, so if you do, monitoring your hypertension at home and seeing reductions can be very satisfying, yet it can also work the other way around if the alterations do not appear to be having any effect.

Whilst you are deciding which home blood pressure monitor to purchase, there are two fundamental alternatives: the aneroid and digital monitors. The digital monitors have either an automatic or a hand-pumpable cuff.

The other kinds are finger or wrist monitors, but these ought to be avoided as they give pretty erratic or inaccurate readings and they are a lot dearer too. If you do purchase one of these monitors, take it with you to your doctor's and compare its performance against a sphygmomanometer, which is considered the gold standard of blood pressure monitors.

So, let us take for granted, that you purchase a proper monitor with a cuff, the first thing to do to make certain maximum accuracy is to get a cuff that fits you well. This is not normally a problem, but if you are large or small, the instruments within the cuff may not be able to give an accurate reading.

If you want an accurate reading, you should wait at least 45 minutes after drinking caffeine before taking a reading. In fact, you should sit quietly for at least ten minutes, before taking any reading. Other precautions are to go to the bathroom first, not to have smoked or to have taken any alcohol recently. In addition, strap the cuff at least an inch above the crease of your elbow.

You will be hoping for a reading below 120/80 which is considered 'normal'. Readings between normal and 140/90 indicate prehypertension and denote that you need to take some action to avoid entering 'Stage One Hypertension', which is anything over this reading.

Contemporary home digital monitors more than a particular price are highly accurate. The digital home monitor that I use cost $100 four years ago, so it should be cheaper now. It was tested against a sphygmomanometer (the type doctors use) and it was always within the constraints of accuracy prescribed by the American National Standard for Electronic or Automated Sphygmomanometers. Look for that guarantee, if you buy a home monitor.

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Knowing Your Antihypertensive Drugs

Recently, the occurrence of hypertension, even at a very young age, has given way to the formation of different health societies focusing on hypertension management. Antihypertensive drugs are therapeutically used in lowering blood pressure and are part of a hypertension treatment regimen. Lifestyle changes, coupled with the right kind of diet, are also of great help in hypertension management.

Antihypertensive drugs are prescription medications, and self-medication is highly discouraged. The cause of hypertension may not simply be because of high levels of cholesterol; it may be due to other factors such as too much sodium in the blood, constriction of blood vessels due to fat deposits, a side effect caused by some medications, or a complication brought about by other diseases such as diabetes.

Theantihypertensive drug consists of different classifications based on their mechanism of action. Since hypertension may occur due to different reasons and factors, it will be of great importance to know what factors are involved in its development. For example, diuretics help the body in decreasing too much sodium ions that cause the blood pressure to rise. Beta-blockers, which include atenolol, propranolol and metoprolol, aim to lower blood pressure by antagonizing the effect of beta-receptors that cause vasoconstriction. The beta-blockers lower blood pressure by causing vasodilatation.

The angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or ACE inhibitors that include captopril and enalapril are important in hypertension management. This class of drugs acts by blocking the effect of angiotensin II that causes hypertension and thus, achieving a decrease in blood pressure.

Another very common class of antihypertensive drugs is the calcium channel blockers. Drugs of this class include nifedipine. The vasodilators, on the other hand, are a class of antihypertensive drugs that directly dilate blood vessels to increase peripheral blood flow. This effect is important in lowering high blood pressure.

As with all other drugs, side effects and adverse drug reactions may also occur while on antihypertensive drugs maintenance, so practice caution and awareness for any occurrence of unwanted side effects.

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Blood Pressure Lowering Strategies That Could Save Your Life!

Hypertension is not in itself a disease, and is referred to as the 'silent killer' as it rarely produces any symptoms. But, over time, it causes excessive force on your artery walls and can seriously compromise many of your body's vital organs - and can even be fatal.

In about 90% of cases the cause of hypertension is unknown. This is referred to as 'primary' or 'essential' hypertension. Some risk factors that contribute to high blood pressure - like family history - are outside your control, but others you can effectively reduce or eliminate by following these proven tips:

1. lose any excess weight. Being overweight means that the amount of blood circulating through your blood vessels increases, creating extra force on your artery walls. Losing as little as 4kg has been shown to bring blood pressure readings down to normal in some cases.

2. Make exercise a part of your everyday routine - walking for just 30 minutes four or five days of the week can significantly lower your blood pressure. However, it is important that you don't begin a strenuous aerobic exercise regime; instead, start slowly with something you enjoy like swimming or golf, and only with your doctor's prior approval and advice.

3. Eliminate or reduce smoking and drinking. Reducing the amount of alcohol you drink can lower your systolic pressure (when your heart contracts like a pump) by up to 5 points and your diastolic pressure (when your heart delates and refills with blood) by about 3 points. The chemicals in tobacco can damage the lining of your artery walls, increasing the risk of cholesterol deposits; and nicotine also constricts your blood vessels and forces your heart to work harder.

4. manage stress - as high levels can cause a dramatic increase in blood pressure. You can help avoid stress by getting ample sleep, saying no to extra tasks and staying calm and patient. Specific relaxation techniques such as massage, yoga, and meditation can be beneficial for reducing stress.

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Blood Pressure Medication

If you are suffering from high blood pressure, otherwise called hypertension, and you failed to control it by making lifestyle changes, then you will probably be taking blood pressure medication. This medication is important to hold the 'Silent Killer' at bay. Therefore, it is equally vital to take the tablets regularly, because otherwise the blood pressure will begin to rise quite rapidly even within twenty-four hours of missing taking the blood pressure medication.

So, how do you make sure that you bear in mind to take the tablets as prescribed by your doctor? It can be a problem for those individuals who have a bad memory, a busy lifestyle or many tablets to take. Some people purchase pill boxes with the numbers one to thirty-one on different compartments, so that they can see whether they have missed a day. This is a good concept which works for most individuals.

Others store their medication on the rack in the bathroom next to their toothbrush, so that they cannot help seeing their blood pressure medication. It is also a good concept to get into the habit of taking your tablets at the same time each day.

However, some tablets should be taken with or just after eating food to reduce the likelihood of upsetting your stomach. So, if you brush you teeth after breakfast, all well and good. Otherwise, you could leave your pills where you usually eat your breakfast or evening meal, so that you can take them with or after eating.

Regularity or routine is the best way of remembering to take your tablets. After even a short time, you will reach for them automatically like Pavlov's dogs if you take the action that triggers taking the tablets. I work from home and any tablets that I have to take, I leave by my computer so that I take them with coffee as soon as I start work.

This works if you work from home, but it is not a useful idea to have one set of tablets on the go in your employer's office and another one at home. You should never double up on this sort of tablets - it is normally better to miss a day than risk taking them twice if you are really not certain. Taking them late however is better than not taking them.

I do not have a pill box, so I just write the date the pill has to be taken on the back of the foil with a felt tip pen so that I can see effortlessly where I am.

Strive to associate taking your tablets with an action or make it a part of another action. For example, if you maintain a diary, make a point of putting a mark each day to indicate that you have taken your tablets and keep the tablets by the diary. If the strips of tablets are small, you can keep them with your money - literally in with your money, so that you see them a number of times a day.

If you use a computer every day, you can easily (very easily, honest) set up a daily reminder in Outlook or some other electronic organizer to tell you each day by pop-up to take your blood pressure medication.

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How Lower Cholesterol Can Help You

You don't have to be a health-conscious person to know how lower cholesterol can help your body. Knowing how you can lower your cholesterol is very significant in improving your overall health. Controlling the food you eat so your body would always have the right level of cholesterol doesn't only make your lifestyle a lot healthier; it would also help you live a longer life in the end.

Balancing your fats (cholesterol) intake is very crucial in preventing heart problems, stroke, and other cardio vascular diseases. That's why it's important to learn more about cholesterol and how to control it.

First, cholesterol is a liver-by product substance in the body that is wax-like or fat-like. It's produced from dietary cholesterol or naturally occurring cholesterol foods like red meat, eggs, dairy foods, and some sea foods. Basically there are two types of cholesterol: LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein) or the "bad cholesterol" and the HDL (High Density Lipoprotein), the "good cholesterol." A healthy level of these cholesterols helps the body to function properly especially in the production of vitamin D, hormones, and acids that help in the digestion of bile. However when you have high cholesterol, or your cholesterol is not in its "optimal" level (you have too many LDL or too little HDL), then you could be at a higher risk for stroke, heart problems, and other cardiovascular diseases as well.

According to the American Heart Association, a person should only consume 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol per day. And, if you are already diagnosed with high cholesterol, or if you have a heart disease, then you should maintain your intake of dietary cholesterol to only 200 milligrams daily.

How to Lower Your Cholesterol

To lower your cholesterol, you can first lower your intake of both LDL and HDL altogether. On the other hand, you can also just avoid high LDL foods like foods with saturated fats and trans fats. Making it a habit to read the package labels on the food you buy from the grocery store in this case would be really helpful. Avoid red meat, chicken skin, egg (yolks), butter, dairy products, and sea foods like lobster, shrimp, or crabs. You should also stay away from foods with hydrogenated vegetable oil, palm oil, or coconut oil.

Instead, choose foods cooked with unsaturated fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats) like sesame oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, and olive oil.

Also eat good cholesterol foods like fish rich in omega3 fatty acids, and other cholesterol lowering foods like lentils, walnuts, and almonds. Also try to eat at least ten grams of soluble fiber (oatmeal or beans) daily to soak up and flush out the extra cholesterol in your body.) Also add antioxidant foods diet like berries to diet as well as fish oil and natural or organic cholesterol reducing supplements or other prescription medications like anti high-triglyceride (for diabetics).

Finally, try to quit smoking and exercise more (at least 90 minutes per week). Not only will these reduce your risks for cancers, cardio-respiratory diseases, or obesity; it will also keep your HDL or good cholesterol at a healthier level. If you know how lower cholesterol and a balanced HDL level can help you, then you simply will have a healthier life.

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Can Chocolate Binges Help Reduce Your Blood Pressure?

High blood pressure or hypertension is a serious disease in the U.S. and in the world. It is so serious that every day millions of people take prescribed medications in an effort to lower their blood pressure to normal range. But what if the simplest of all medicines was dark chocolate? Can dark chocolate really reduce blood pressure?

According to a recently completed German study, the answer is yes. Dr Dirk Taubert, a researcher at the University Hospital of Cologne divided 44 adult men and women with stage 1 hypertension and ranging in age from 56 to 73 years into two groups. One group was given just over 6 grams of dark chocolate a day, each containing 30 mg of polyphenols. Each day the second group received an equal amount of white chocolate, without polyphenols. The study lasted 18 weeks.

At the study's end, it was found that the systolic blood pressure of those participants who ate the dark had dropped an average of three points. Diastolic pressure was reduced by 2 points. In addition, those who ate the dark experience no weight gain. According to Dr. Taubert, the study showed that "Regular intake of small amounts of the dark can help to lower pressure."

Although prior studies have linked foods that are rich in cocoa to lower incidences of heart disease and heart attacks, this study specifically focused on the effects of cocoa on blood pressure. It would appear the the magic ingredient in the chocolate is polyphenols. The higher the percentage of polyphenols in the dark chocolate, the more the LDL (i.e., "bad cholesterol") in the bloodstream was reduced. At the same time the amount of HDL (i.e., "good cholesterol") in the bloodstream increased.

As the news of this study gravitates to the general public, there are bound to be a number of important questions and concerns regarding the intake of dark chocolate. Here are answers to a few:

What is a polyphenol? Polyphenols are a group of chemical substances found in plants. Polyphenols are loaded with antioxidants and flavonoids which have been shown to be very helpful in enhancing the immune system.

Will dark chocolate be covered by insurance? At the present time, no. However, if universal health care passes, there is a possibility that it could be covered. Write your congressman or woman.

Will I require a prescription to buy dark chocolate? Initially no. But as the major drug companies invade the chocolate industry there are sure to be patented chocolate medicines that will require a prescription. Talk to your doctor for the latest info.

Can I overdose on dark chocolate? Yes you can, if you consume a great deal of chocolate in a short amount of time. To best protect yourself, try to only eat dark chocolate that has no alcohol and no sugar.

The important thing is not to go overboard on chocolate binges. If you have elevated blood pressure and decide to add dark chocolate to your diet, talk to your doctor and inform him of your decision so he can help you to make the right dietary decision.

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High Blood Pressure Over Diagnosed - NHS Recommends Home Blood Pressure Monitoring

A recent study by Britain's NHS suggests that many patients are diagnosed as having high blood pressure when they really don't. A professor from University of Leicester says that blood pressure taken in a clinical setting (doctor's office) is affected by "white coat hypertension" more than previously thought. White coat hypertension is the term used for persons who's BP becomes elevated due to the stress they experience simply by being in the doctor's office.

As expected, most cases of elevated blood pressure are diagnosed by the doctor in his office. This new revelation may mean that thousands of people who have been diagnosed and treated for pre-hypertension may in fact have normal pressure.

Home blood pressure monitoring recommended

The recommendation from the Blood Pressure Association (the UK version of the American Heart Association) is the use of home blood pressure monitors. Monitoring pressure in the familiar and comfortable setting of a person's home minimizes the chances of a reading being influenced by stress and anxiety. Most modern blood pressure monitors are semi or fully automated and easy to use.

In the UK where the government offers universal health care the impact of over diagnoses and treatment is as much financial as it is medical. If a person is diagnosed as pre-hypertensive and also suffers from white coat hypertension, repeated trips to the doctor's office will simply exacerbate the problem and use up limited medical resources. In addition, any drug prescribed for the condition (usually a diuretic) is paid for by the NHS.

A clinically validated monitor costs between $45 and $90 which is much less expensive than repeated visits to the doctor. In addition, if medication can be reduced or eliminated that cost, as well as the potential side effects, goes away.

Lessons for US treatment for elevated pressure

The lesson to be learned by the rest of the world, particularly the United States where over 50 million people are thought to have high blood pressure, is that home pressure monitoring may reveal the same kind of over diagnosis. In the past artificially elevated pressure was explained as the anxiety of being in a doctor's office. Today there are additional stressors that are tied to the economic environment.

A trip to the doctor with reduced or no insurance benefits now represents an unplanned expense that can have potentially a significant financial impact on the patient and his or her family. Anxiety is becoming the norm.

If the NHS findings are correct, then it would seem to be logical for all persons diagnosed with high BP to use a home blood pressure monitor to get an accurate reading to their condition. This can result in a reduction in over medicating, stress and by engaging the patient in their condition, an increase in their awareness to diet, exercise and lifestyle.

Does this article make sense to you? Do you experience anxiety when you visit the doctor? Could it be that your blood pressure isn't as high as your doctor thinks? Have you been prescribed a higher dose of medication than you need based on pressure readings that are artificially elevated because of nerves?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then you really should consider blood pressure monitoring at home. It's easy, it's cheap and it can give you and your doctor the real picture of your problem.

For a step by step description of just how easy home monitoring is click here.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rachel_Willson

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Expensive new blood pressure meds no better than generics, according to long-term data

ScienceDaily (Aug. 14, 2010) — Expensive brand-name medications to lower blood pressure are no better at preventing cardiovascular disease than older, generic diuretics, according to new long-term data from a landmark study.

Paul Whelton, MB, MD, MSc, reported the results on Aug. 13 at the plenary session of the China Heart Congress and International Heart Forum in Beijing. Whelton is president and CEO of Loyola University Health System and chairman of the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heat Attack Trial (ALLHAT), which has examined the comparative value of different blood pressure-lowering medications.

More than 33,000 patients with high blood pressure were randomly assigned to take either a diuretic (chlorthalidone) or one of two newer drugs, a calcium channel blocker (amlodipine) or an ACE inhibitor (lisinopril).

In 2002, ALLHAT researchers reported that among patients followed for four-to-eight years, the diuretic was better than the calcium channel blocker in preventing heart failure and better than the ACE inhibitor in preventing stroke, heart failure and overall cardiovascular disease.

In the new study, researchers followed ALLHAT participants for an additional four to five years after completion of the trial, bringing the total follow-up period to between eight and 13 years. During this longer follow-up period, the differences between the three drugs narrowed -- by most measures they were a statistical dead heat.

But the diuretic still was superior in two measures: Compared with the diuretic group, the ACE inhibitor group had a 20 percent higher death rate from stroke, and the calcium channel blocker group had a 12 percent higher rate of hospitalizations and deaths due to heart failure.

Diuretics, sometimes called "water pills," are the traditional medications for high blood pressure. They cause kidneys to remove sodium and water from the body, thereby relaxing blood vessel walls. ACE inhibitors such as lisinopril (brand names, Prinivil® and Zestril®) decrease chemicals that tighten blood vessels. Calcium channel blockers such as amlodipine (brand name, Norvasc®) relax blood vessels.

Diuretics cost $25 to $40 per year, while newer brand-name hypertension drugs can cost $300 to $600 per year.

The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute recommends patients control their blood pressure by first controlling their weight, exercising, reducing sodium, increasing potassium and drinking alcohol in moderation. The institute says that if lifestyle changes are not sufficient, diuretics then normally should be the drug of first choice.

However, newer, higher-priced drugs are heavily marketed, and diuretics account for only about 30 percent of prescriptions written for high blood pressure medications, Whelton said.

Whelton is senior author of a study published in the May 24, 2010, Archives of Internal Medicine that found that using techniques similar to those employed by pharmaceutical sales reps can help persuade doctors to prescribe diuretics.

Like drug sales representatives, researchers in the study met with small groups of doctors, especially opinion leaders. They detailed guidelines for treating high blood pressure, and handed out studies, newsletters, exam room posters, etc. An examination of prescribing patterns found that this technique, known as "academic detailing," influenced what drugs doctors prescribed.

ALLHAT is sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. "We are continuing to mine data that we collected during the trial," Whelton said.

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New proteins that regulate blood pressure, flow discovered

ScienceDaily (July 27, 2010) — Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have identified key players in a little-known biochemical pathway that appears to regulate blood pressure. The findings, reported in the early online version of Cardiovascular Research, have evolved from studies conducted by Jeffrey S. Isenberg, M.D., Eileen M. Bauer, Ph.D., and their colleagues at Pitt's Vascular Medicine Institute.

"Identifying and unraveling this important pathway for blood pressure regulation could lead to a better understanding of who will get high blood pressure and why, as well as allow us to develop better drugs to treat these patients," Dr. Isenberg said. "Poorly controlled hypertension is a major risk factor for heart attacks and heart failure, stroke and kidney failure."

The pathway he and collaborator David D. Roberts, Ph.D., of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH), have been exploring involves nitric oxide (NO) signaling. The cells that line blood vessels, called the endothelium, produce NO in a few biochemical steps. NO promotes blood vessel dilation and increases blood flow. Conversely, endothelial dysfunction, along with loss of NO production, is known to be involved in the development of many forms of cardiovascular disease, including hypertension.

Through cell culture and mouse experiments, the researchers found that a protein called thrombospondin-1 (TSP1) and its receptor, CD47, inhibit activation of the endothelial-based enzyme called endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), which in turn limits the production of NO and thus prevents blood vessels from relaxing and blood pressure from dropping. Circulating TSP1, at levels consistent with those found in the blood stream, is capable of inhibiting activation of endothelial-based eNOS and thus blocking NO production.

"For some time now, it has not been clear what role TSP1 served in the blood. Experiments in cells told us TSP1 could alter NO signaling. But TSP1 is a protein too large to cross through the endothelial layer and into the blood vessel wall, so it was not obvious how it could alter the muscle tone of the arteries," Dr. Isenberg said. "We also knew that mice genetically engineered to not produce TSP1 or CD47 showed more NO-based blood flow and blood vessel dilation. This suggested to us that perhaps circulating TSP1 was altering the ability of the endothelium to make NO by acting on eNOS."

He and his team are now developing agents that can alter the activity of eNOS by "blocking" the inhibitory signal mediated by TSP1 and CD47, which have the potential to be novel blood pressure-regulating drugs. Some cases of hypertension may arise from gene-based differences in these proteins, Dr. Isenberg noted.

"This work has identified a key pathway that effectively puts the brakes on nitric oxide production, which slows down blood flow," said Mark T. Gladwin, M.D., director of the Vascular Medicine Institute. "Furthermore, drugs that block this pathway have the potential to restore nitric oxide levels and may be useful for the treatment of high blood pressure and other vascular diseases."

The team included other researchers from the Pitt School of Medicine and NCI, as well as the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The work was funded by grants from NCI, NIDDK and NIH.

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Body mass index at age 17 within the normal range can predict future risk for hypertension in later life

ScienceDaily (July 27, 2010) — Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) researchers reveal in a new, large-scale study that "normal" blood pressure at age 17 can still predict hypertension at early adulthood and that teenage boys are three to four times more likely to develop high blood pressure in early adulthood than girls.

According to the study published in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association, the research team assessed how teenage boys and girls with normal blood pressure might progress into becoming young adults with hypertension. Currently, systolic blood pressures of 100 to 110 and even up to 120 are considered within the normal range for adolescents. Other traits like weight, height and body mass index (BMI) have a range of distribution that is considered "normal."

"Frequently called the 'silent killer,' hypertension is a major risk factor for heart disease and vascular diseases like stroke," explains researcher Dr. Assaf Rudich, an associate professor in the Department of Clinical Biochemistry at BGU. "It is increasing along with the obesity epidemic, but regrettably, young adults who are otherwise healthy frequently are not screened for becoming hypertensive."

The BGU researchers examined the development of blood pressure from adolescence to young adulthood in 23,191 boys and 3,789 girls from ages 17 to 42 by taking regular readings of their blood pressure and BMI of Israel Defense Forces personnel who were not hypertensive at age 17 in their initial evaluation before recruitment.

The study revealed two substantive findings:

In boys, there is a strong correlation between blood pressure and BMI at age 17. This means that while the blood pressure reading may be in the "normal range," there is a greater risk for hypertension when BMI is also evaluated. The rate of progression to hypertension is higher in boys whose systolic blood pressure is 110 versus those whose blood pressure is 100.For girls, only the sub-group considered obese had substantially higher risk of high blood pressure. The researchers believe that estrogen may protect against hypertension.

The study also confirmed several known observations:

Seventeen-year-old boys have higher blood pressure than their female counter parts.Boys are three to four times more likely to develop hypertension as young adults and the higher the blood pressure value, even within the normal range, the higher is the risk for becoming hypertensive adults.

During a follow-up period with these adolescents, 14 percent or 3,810 people developed hypertension.

"Collectively, the study suggests that pediatricians caring for adolescents and physicians caring for young adults should be more aware of the need to monitor weight and blood pressure even when they are considered "normal," explains Dr. Iris Shai, an associate professor in the Department of Epidemiology in the Faculty of Health and Sciences. "For the individual person, a 'normal value' may still be associated with a significant elevated risk of disease when the BMI and sex of the patient is also considered."

Participants were part of the Metabolic, Lifestyle and Nutrition Assessment in Young Adults (MELANY) Study conducted by the Israel Defense Forces.

The Talpiot Medical Leadership Program, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-Hashomer Israel and the Israel Defense Forces Medical Corps funded the study.

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Chili peppers may come with blood pressure benefits

ScienceDaily (Aug. 4, 2010) — For those with high blood pressure, chili peppers might be just what the doctor ordered, according to a study reported in the August issue of Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. While the active ingredient that gives the peppers their heat -- a compound known as capsaicin -- might set your mouth on fire, it also leads blood vessels to relax, the research in hypertensive rats shows.

"We found that long-term dietary consumption of capsaicin, one of the most abundant components in chili peppers, could reduce blood pressure in genetically hypertensive rats," said Zhiming Zhu of Third Military Medical University in Chongqing, China.

Those effects depend on the chronic activation of something called the transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) channel found in the lining of blood vessels. Activation of the channel leads to an increase in production of nitric oxide, a gaseous molecule known to protect blood vessels against inflammation and dysfunction, Zhu explained.

The study isn't the first to look for a molecular link between capsaicin and lower blood pressure. However, earlier studies were based on acute or short-term exposure to the chemical, with some conflicting results. Zhu says their study is the first to examine the effects of long-term treatment with capsaicin in rats with high blood pressure.

The findings in rats should be confirmed in humans through epidemiological analysis, the researchers said. In fact, there were already some clues: the prevalence of hypertension is over 20% in Northeastern China compared to 10-14% in Southwestern China, including Sichuan, Guozhuo, Yunnan, Hunan, and Chongqing, where Zhu is from.

"People in these regions like to eat hot and spicy foods with a lot of chili peppers," Zhu says. "For example, a very famous local food in my hometown, Chongqing, is the spicy hot pot."

It isn't yet clear just how many capsaicin-containing chili peppers a day you'd have to eat to "keep the doctor away," although that's a question that should now be examined in greater detail, Zhu says.

For those who can't tolerate spicy foods, there might still be hope. Zhu notes the existence of a mild Japanese pepper, which contains a compound called capsinoid that is closely related to capsaicin.

"Limited studies show that these capsinoids produce effects similar to capsaicin," Zhu says. "I believe that some people can adopt this sweet pepper."

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Cell Press, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

Dachun Yang, Zhidan Luo, Shuangtao Ma, Wing Tak Wong, Liqun Ma, Jian Zhong, Hongbo He, Zhigang Zhao, Tingbing Cao, Zhencheng Yan, Daoyan Liu, William J. Arendshorst, Yu Huang, Martin Tepel, Zhiming Zhu. Activation of TRPV1 by Dietary Capsaicin Improves Endothelium-Dependent Vasorelaxation and Prevents Hypertension. Cell Metabolism, 2010; 12 (2): 130-141 DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2010.05.015

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Antioxidants do help arteries stay healthy

ScienceDaily (July 6, 2010) — Long-term supplementation with dietary antioxidants has beneficial effects on sugar and fat metabolism, blood pressure and arterial flexibility in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Nutrition and Metabolism report these positive results in a randomized controlled trial of combined vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10 and selenium capsules.

Reuven Zimlichman worked with a team of researchers from Wolfson Medical Center, Israel, to carry out the study in 70 patients from the centre's hypertension clinic. He said, "Antioxidant supplementation significantly increased large and small artery elasticity in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. This beneficial vascular effect was associated with an improvement in glucose and lipid metabolism as well as significant decrease in blood pressure."

Previous results from clinical trials into the cardiovascular health effects of antioxidants have been equivocal. In order to shed more light onto the matter, Zimlichman and his colleagues randomised the 70 patients to receive either antioxidants or placebo capsules for six months. Tests at the beginning of the trial, after three months and at the six month mark revealed that the patients in the antioxidant group had more elastic arteries (a measure of increased cardiovascular health) and better blood sugar and cholesterol profiles.

According to Zimlichman, "The findings of the present study justify investigating the overall clinical impact of antioxidant treatment in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors."

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by BioMed Central, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

Marina Shargorodsky, Ortal Debbi, Zipora Matas and Reuven Zimlichman. Effect of long-term treatment with antioxidants (vitamin C, vitamin E, coenzyme Q10 and selenium) on arterial compliance, humoral factors and inflammatory markers in patients with multiple cardiovascular risk factors. Nutrition & Metabolism, 2010; (in press) [link]

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Binge drinking increases death risk in men with high blood pressure

ScienceDaily (Aug. 19, 2010) — If you have high blood pressure, binge drinking may dramatically raise your risk of stroke or heart-related death, according to a South Korean study reported in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Compared to non-drinkers with normal blood pressure, researchers found that the risk of cardiovascular death in men with blood pressure of at least 168 /100 millimeters of mercury was:

three times higher overall,four times higher if they were binge drinkers, consuming six or more drinks on one occasion, andtwelve times higher if they were heavy binge drinkers, consuming 12 or more drinks on one occasion.

The study followed more than 6,100 residents, 55 years and older, of an agricultural community in South Korea for almost 21 years.

Overall, about 15 percent of men said they were moderate binge drinkers and about 3 percent said they were heavy binge drinkers. However, because less than one percent of the women were reportedly binge drinkers, no conclusions could be made about the combined impact of high blood pressure and binge drinking in women, said Heechoul Ohrr, M.D., Ph.D., senior author of the study and professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea.

Hypertension and binge drinking each contribute to cardiovascular disease but have been rarely studied together, researchers said. These findings need to be confirmed in other studies and it's unclear whether the results can be generalized to other populations.

The American Heart Association advises that if you drink alcohol, do so in moderation -- no more than two drinks per day for men and one drink per day for women. The association defines a drink as one 12-ounce beer, one 4-ounce glass of wine, 1.5 ounces of 80-proof spirits or one ounce of 100-proof spirits.

Co-authors are Jae Woong Sull, Ph.D.; Sang Wook Yi, M.D., Ph.D.; Chung Mo Nam, Ph.D.; and Kwisook Choi, Ph.D. Author disclosures and funding information are on the manuscript.

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Definition of Hypertension

The definition hypertension:
I thought this would be just a little post to explain to some that dont truly know what hypertension is about. I know Wikipedia is not the final answer to anything I did like its definition of the word:hypertension so here it goes:

Hypertension (HTN) or high blood pressure is a cardiac chronic medical condition in which the systemic arterial blood pressure is elevated. It is the opposite of hypotension. Hypertension is classified as either primary (essential) or secondary. About 90–95% of cases are termed "primary hypertension", which refers to high blood pressure for which no medical cause has been found.^[1] The remaining 5–10% of cases (Secondary hypertension) are caused by other conditions that affect the kidneys, arteries, heart, or endocrine system.^[2]

Persistent hypertension is one of the risk factors for stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure and arterial aneurysm, and is a leading cause of chronic kidney failure.^[3] Moderate elevation of arterial blood pressure leads to shortened life expectancy. Dietary and lifestyle changes can improve blood pressure control and decrease the risk of associated health complications, although drug treatment may prove necessary in patients for whom lifestyle changes prove ineffective or insufficient.^[4]

That was a well put definition of hypertension.

Common hypertension drugs can raise blood pressure in certain patients

ScienceDaily (Aug. 19, 2010) — AlbCommonly prescribed drugs used to lower blood pressure can actually have the opposite effect -- raising blood pressure in a statistically significant percentage of patients. A new study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University suggests that doctors could avoid this problem -- and select drugs most suitable for their patients -- by measuring blood levels of the enzyme renin through a blood test that is becoming more widely available.

The study appears in the online edition of the American Journal of Hypertension.

"Our findings suggest that physicians should use renin levels to predict the most appropriate first drug for treating patients with hypertension," says lead author Michael Alderman, M.D., professor of epidemiology & population health and of medicine at Einstein. "This would increase the likelihood of achieving blood pressure control and reduce the need for patients to take additional antihypertensive medications."

The study involved 945 patients who were enrolled in a workplace antihypertensive treatment program in New York City from 1981 to 1998. All had a systolic blood pressure (SBP) of at least 140 mmHg. SBP, the top number in the blood pressure reading, represents the amount of force that blood exerts on the walls of blood vessels when the heart contracts. No patients were receiving treatment for high blood pressure before enrolling in the study.

The patients were given a single antihypertensive medication, either a diuretic or a calcium channel blocker (so-called "V" drugs, which lower blood volume) or a beta blocker or an ACE inhibitor ("R" drugs, which lower levels of renin, an enzyme secreted by the kidneys that plays a key role in maintaining blood pressure).

Plasma renin activity (PRA) and SBP were measured at enrollment, and SBP was measured again after one to three months of treatment. The renin level predicted those patients who were most likely to have a favorable response with either an R or a V drug. In addition, for both R and V drugs, the renin test was able to identify those patients most likely to experience a "pressor response" -- a clinically significant increase in SBP of 10 mmHg or more.

Overall, 7.7 percent of the patients exhibited a pressor response. The highest percentage of pressor responses -- 16 percent -- occurred in patients with low renin levels who were given a beta blocker or an ACE inhibitor (R drugs).

"Every clinician knows that there's a variation in response to antihypertensive treatment, and that some patients will have an elevation in blood pressure," says Dr. Alderman, a former president of the American Society of Hypertension. "The latter phenomenon is generally attributed to patients' failure to take their medications or to a random event. But these data show that it's not a random event -- it's due to a mismatch between the patients' renin status and the drug. We think it makes sense to use renin to predict the most appropriate treatment."

Dr. Alderman says that two groups of patients might especially benefit from having their renin levels measured: patients being prescribed antihypertensive drugs for the first time and patients who are taking multiple antihypertensive drugs when one or two might work just as well. "With renin testing, you will more often get blood pressure under control with less therapy," he adds.

PRA testing has long been used to help determine the underlying cause of a patient's hypertension (i.e. whether it's due to constricted blood vessels or too much blood volume, or both), which can help guide therapy. "The problem was that the test was expensive and difficult to perform accurately," says Dr. Alderman. "However, the methodology for measuring PRA is getting better and the test is becoming more widely available."

In an accompanying editorial, Morris J. Brown, M.D., professor of clinical pharmacology at the University of Cambridge School of Medicine in England, wrote, "The role of renin measurement may be to detect the extremes, and to reach rational treatment in those not controlled by standard combination [drug therapy]. Many hormones are measured on rather less reason and evidence than plasma renin, the 'oldest' of them all; its place in routine management of hypertension has at last arrived."

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The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Albert Einstein College of Medicine, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal Reference:

Alderman et al. Pressor Responses to Antihypertensive Drug Types. American Journal of Hypertension, 2010; DOI: 10.1038/ajh.2010.114

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Potential treatment for pulmonary hypertension discovered

ScienceDaily (Aug. 12, 2010) — Researchers in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta are one step closer to a treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension, a potentially deadly disease.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension, which is high blood pressure in the lungs, currently has only a few treatment options, but most cases lead to premature death. It is caused by a cancer-like excessive growth of cells in the wall of the lung blood vessels. It causes the lumen, the path where blood travels, to constrict putting pressure on the right ventricle of the heart which eventually leads to heart failure.

Evangelos Michelakis, his graduate student Gopinath Sutendra and a group of collaborators have found that this excessive cell growth can be reversed by targeting the mitochondria of the cell, which control metabolism of the cell and initiate cell death.

By using dichloroacetate (DCA) or Trimetazidine (TMZ), mitochondria targeted drugs, the activity of the mitochondria increases which helps induce cell death and regresses pulmonary hypertension in an animal model, says Sutendra.

Current therapies only look at dilating the constricted vessels rather than regression, so this is a very exciting advancement for the lab.

"In the pulmonary hypertension field they're really looking for new therapies to regress the disease, it might be the wave of the future," said Sutendra. "The other thing that is really exciting is that TMZ and DCA have been used clinically in patients so it's something that can be used right away in these patients."

Clinical trials are expected to be the next step. Michelakis is currently working with a college in the United Kingdom to have patients with pulmonary hypertension take DCA.

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Gene testing war looms for AstraZeneca heart drug

Below: x Jump to discussion comments below discussion x Next story in Heart health Not all 'good' cholesterol is good, study shows related Advertise

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More omega-3 fats and heart patients

No extra benefits for those already getting good medical care, study showed Below: x Jump to discussion comments below discussion x Next story in Heart health Women with high job stress face heart risks related Advertise

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Here is a informative video on the benefits of omega 3 oils

Heart failure patients benefit from own stem cells

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Cooling therapy has chilling effect on cardiac arrest deaths

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Drug cuts stroke risk by half vs aspirin: study

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Your hair knows when you're going to keel over

MSNHotmailMoreAutosMy MSNVideoCareers & JobsPersonalsWeatherDelishQuotesWhite PagesGamesReal EstateWonderwallHoroscopesShoppingYellow PagesLocal EditionTrafficFeedbackMaps & DirectionsTravelFull MSN IndexBingmsnbc.comsites & shows:TODAYNightly NewsMeet the PressDatelineMorning JoeHardballThe Last WordMaddowEdmsnbc tvadvertisementRecommended: Spider venom better than Viagra?Recommended: Kind of a big deal: Meet a modern-day Irish 'giant'Recommended: Can you really survive on windshield wiper fluid for 5 days?Recommended: Your name tastes like purpleheader.top_header

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Study links cholesterol and nonstick coating chemical

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THIS WILL MAKE YOU STOP DRINKING DIET DRINKS!!!

Obesity has doubled since 1980, major global analysis of risk factors reveals

ScienceDaily (Feb. 4, 2011) — The worldwide prevalence of obesity has nearly doubled since 1980, according to a major study on how three important heart disease risk factors have changed across the world over the last three decades. The study, published February 4 in three papers in the Lancet, looked at all available global data to assess how body mass index, blood pressure and cholesterol changed between 1980 and 2008.

The study shows that in 2008, more than one in ten of the world's adult population was obese, with women more likely to be obese than men. An estimated 205 million men and 297 million adult women were obese -- a total of more than half a billion adults worldwide.

The proportion of the world's population with high blood pressure, or uncontrolled hypertension, fell modestly between 1980 and 2008. However, because of population growth and ageing, the number of people with uncontrolled hypertension rose from 600 million in 1980 to nearly 1 billion in 2008. High-income countries achieved large reductions in uncontrolled hypertension, with the most impressive progress seen in women in Australasia and men in North America. Uncontrolled hypertension is defined as a systolic blood pressure higher than 140 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure higher than 90 mmHg.

Average levels of total blood cholesterol fell in Western countries of North America, Australasia and Europe, but increased in East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific region.

Professor Majid Ezzati, the senior author of the study from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, said: "Our results show that overweight and obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol are no longer Western problems or problems of wealthy nations. Their presence has shifted towards low and middle income countries, making them global problems."

Beyond global trends, the studies reveal how different countries compare in terms of each risk factor. The results show that:

BMI:

In 2008, 9.8 per cent of men and 13.8 per cent of women in the world were obese (with a BMI above 30 kg/m2), compared with 4.8 per cent for men and 7.9 per cent for women in 1980.Pacific island nations have the highest average BMI in the world, reaching 34-35 kg/m2, up to 70 per cent higher than some countries in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.Among high income countries, USA has the single highest BMI (over 28 kg/m2 for men and women), followed by New Zealand. Japan has the lowest BMI (about 22 kg/m2 for women and 24 kg/m2 for men), followed by Singapore.Among high-income countries, between 1980 and 2008, BMI rose most in USA (by more than 1 kg/m2/decade), followed by New Zealand and Australia for women and followed by UK and Australia for men. Women in a few Western European countries had virtually no rise in BMI.The UK has the sixth highest BMI in Europe for women and ninth highest for men (both around 27 kg/m2).Turkish women and Czech men have the highest BMI in Europe (both around 28 kg/m2). Swiss women had the lowest BMI in Europe (around 24 kg/m2).

Blood pressure:

Systolic blood pressure levels are highest in Baltic and East and West African countries, reaching 135 mmHg for women and 138 mmHg for men. These levels were seen in some Western European countries in the 1980s before their impressive declines.South Korea, Cambodia, Australia, Canada and USA had some of the lowest blood pressures for both men and women, below 120 mmHg for women and below 125 mmHg for men.Among high income countries, Portugal, Finland and Norway have the highest blood pressure.Men had higher blood pressure than women in most world regions.

Cholesterol:

Western European countries like Greenland, Iceland, Andorra, and Germany have the highest cholesterol levels in the world, with mean serum total cholesterols of around 5.5 mmol/L.African countries have the lowest cholesterol, some as low as 4 mmol/L.Among western high-income countries, Greece has the lowest cholesterol for both men and women (below 5 mmol/L). USA, Canada, and Sweden also had low cholesterol.The UK's cholesterol is ninth highest in the world, slightly below 5.5 mmol/L.

The review was carried out by an international collaboration of researchers, led by Professor Majid Ezzati from Imperial College London and co-led by Dr. Goodarz Danaei from the Harvard School of Public Health, in collaboration with The World Health Organization and a number of other institutions.

Professor Ezzati added: "It's heartening that many countries have successfully reduced blood pressure and cholesterol despite rising BMI. Improved screening and treatment probably helped to lower these risk factors in high-income countries, as did using less salt and healthier, unsaturated fats.

"The findings are an opportunity to implement policies that lead to healthier diets, especially lower salt intake, at all levels of economic development, as well as looking at how we improve detection and control through the primary healthcare system. Policies and targets for cardiovascular risk factors should get special attention at the High-level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on Non-Communicable Diseases in September 2011."

Dr. Goodarz Danaei, from the Harvard School of Public Health, said: "This is the first time that anyone has tried to estimate trends in these major risk factors in every country in the world. The amount of data we collected is unprecedented and vast, and allows us to draw robust conclusions."

Dr. Gretchen Stevens, from the World Health Organization, said: "Our study helps track the obesity problem in individual countries and regions. We know that changes in diet and in physical activity have contributed to the worldwide rise in obesity, but it remains unclear which policies would effectively reduce obesity. We need to identify, implement, and rigorously evaluate policy interventions aimed at reversing the trends, or limiting their harmful effects."

The work forms part of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries and Risk Factors Study, which is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The study also received funding from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by ScienceDaily staff) from materials provided by Imperial College London, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Journal References:

Mariel M Finucane et al. National, regional, and global trends in body-mass index since 1980: systematic analysis of health examination surveys and epidemiological studies with 960 country-years and 9·1 million participants. The Lancet, 4 February 2011 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)62037-5Farshad Farzadfar et al. National, regional, and global trends in serum total cholesterol since 1980: systematic analysis of health examination surveys and epidemiological studies with 321 country-years and 3·0 million participants. The Lancet, 4 February 2011 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)62038-7Goodarz Danaei et al. National, regional, and global trends in systolic blood pressure since 1980: systematic analysis of health examination surveys and epidemiological studies with 786 country-years and 5·4 million participants. The Lancet, 4 February 2011 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)62036-3

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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